Easier Said Than Done
by Color With Marker
Summary: Loki wasn't sure when he hit rock bottom. Maybe it was becoming a teenage father to a foreign child. Perhaps it was learning of his true heritage. If anyone asks, he'll say it was the day he began dating Tony Stark. Life is hard on Loki, but hey, no one ever said it was easy.
1. Prologue

All it takes is one heartbreak to ruin a person's life.

For Loki Odinson, that heartbreak came early in life.

It was the beginning of freshman year. In early September, he'd been walking in the cafeteria alongside his older brother Thor, who was rambling on about something sports-related, when he was struck by the beauty of what he considered to be a goddess. A petite blonde sitting alone at one of the sticky round tables, she herself preoccupied with the contents of a thick novel. Loki, who never once understood love, was so shocked that he ceased moving altogether. He only snapped out of his daze when Thor grabbed his elbow and pulled him along so they could sit with the latter's friends. During the rest of lunch hour, Loki continued to stare at the girl.

Later in the month, Sif caught on to Loki's behavior in the cafeteria and gave him valuable information. Her name was Sigyn. She was the same age and in the same grade as Loki. Her grades were amongst the top five in the grade, higher than Loki's were at the time, despite her first language not being English, but a different, European language. (Sif noted that with the amount of rumors spread around their school, it was no surprise that the actual language Sigyn spoke was unknown.) Her hobbies didn't seem to venture from reading and studying, although it was speculated that she had some kind of hidden artistic talent. She didn't seem to have any friends, but it didn't seem like she minded. When Thor and the three other over-sized, obnoxious boys at the lunch table were in the middle of a heated debate over who was the strongest, Sif whispered in Loki's ear advice for how to get her attention.

So the next day, before school started, Loki purposefully picked a fight with Thor and continued to pretend to be enraged with his brother during their lunch hour, so he'd have an excuse to not sit at their usual table. Instead, he approached Sigyn and tapped her shoulder. The blonde jolted and looked up from her book, large baby blue eyes staring back at his jade green orbs.

Just his luck, he noticed the title of the book she had been reading: _Lodsen og hans Hustru_ (_The Pilot and His Wife_) by Jonas Lie.

"_Jonas Lie. En av den Fjerde Store. Han er en utmerket forfatter,_" he said with a smile. Sigyn's eyes grew even larger. Her lips parted slightly.

"_Du snakker norsk?_" she asked.

"About as well as I speak English," Loki replied. He took this as an opportunity to sit down beside her. His messenger bag slid on the floor beside hers with a loud plop as he became immediately engrossed with Sigyn. "How about you?"

"English isn't my favorite language to use," she admitted, making a small face that made Loki laugh, "but the language barrier is worse."

"_Du trenger ikke å bekymre deg for det med meg_," Loki purred. Sigyn blushed a bit, and during the rest of lunch, they talked in Norwegian and bonded over several things. Right as the bell rang, they exchanged phone numbers and promised to call - yes, call, not text - each other after school.

He thanked Sif later for setting them up, then apologized to Thor for his unnecessary behavior earlier that day.

The rest of his freshman year revolved around Sigyn. They spent as much time as they could together. She was always welcome over the Odinsons' home; Frigga, his mother, was thrilled that one of her sons had a lovely girlfriend (especially one who spoke Norwegian, as did the whole Odinson clan), and Odin, his father, was grateful that Loki was able to date, after the shock of Loki having a girlfriend before Thor wore off. Unlike other couples, they spent their time not trying to be as sexual as possible, but lied in bed (fully clothed, and never under covers unless it was too cold inside) and talk for hours about whatever came to mind. Once in a while, they said nothing and held hands with shy smiles on their faces. It was young love at its finest and strongest.

Then in May, something hit them both: Sigyn's family would be moving back to Norway in July.

Neither knew how to handle this. A break-up seemed out of the question, but the distance in their relationship was overseas, something they both knew was going to bring nothing but pain to both of them. One night, Sigyn crumbled under the stress and pressure and broke down in Loki's arms, causing the equally emotionally distressed boy to cry with her.

They chose to remain to friends. Before her leaving was official, Loki kissed her for the first time. It was short and chaste, but everything they were afraid to say out loud was known by the short touching of their lips. That innocent kiss led to them making love in Sigyn's room.

They promised to write to each other every time they had a chance. The day before Sigyn left, Loki confessed his love to her in a very lengthy letter and sent it, hoping it'd arrive in Norway not much longer after she settled in. The day she actually left, he received a letter in the mail. Apparently, she had the same idea as him.

That day, Thor cancelled his plans with his friends and sat with Loki in his room, holding his brother and letting him cry in his arms until he fell asleep. Never had he seen his brother so hurt before. Never again did he want to see Loki so destroyed by love.

Through letters, Loki and Sigyn kept in touch. He learned that he had impregnated Sigyn, and that her parents refused to let her return to America so they could raise the child together, or let him come to Norway, either. Every other month, he'd send whatever money he had to help support Sigyn and their son, Nari. In return, she'd send updates about their son's growth and accompanying pictures. He had a scrapbook filled with photos of Nari.

No one, not even Thor or Frigga, knew about his son.

* * *

Finding out was a complete accident.

Thor and Loki were applying online for jobs around their area, yet neither boy knew their social security numbers well enough to type them. The documents were in Odin's office, a place very few dared to venture, other than Frigga, of course. Loki was less afraid of being caught than his brother, meaning he had to go into their father's sanctuary and locate their social security cards. He searched through the filing cabinet, each of the four drawers containing the records of the family members. He went through his first, the bottom drawer, and found the documents with his social security number on it near the bottom. When he slid the papers out, a manila folder beneath them caught his eye. Curious, he pulled it out as well and peeked inside. Then read them. Then reread them. Three more times.

Suddenly his entire world came crashing down.

"FATHER!" he bellowed as he stormed downstairs into the living room. Odin and Frigga, who had been watching a George Romero movie, both turned at the sound of their youngest son with confused looks on their faces.

"Loki, why are you yelling?" Frigga asked with concern.

The dark-haired teen held up the folder. "Would someone care to explain what this is all about?" he hissed. Both of his parents froze at the sight.

"Were you snooping in my office?" Odin demanded.

"You aren't in any position to question me, Odin!" Loki threw the folder on the ground. His adoption papers scattered around the room. Both parents froze momentarily, before Frigga picked them up hastily, while Odin continued glaring at his son with his one eye.

"This wasn't how you were supposed to find out," he admitted. "We were going to wait until you were older."

"How much older, Odin? I'm nearly sixteen now, is that not old enough?" Loki cried. "And did you not think of the consequences beforehand?"

"I certainly did not expect this much of a histrionic reaction!"

"My response to this information is completely reasonable!"

"Don't you backtalk me, I am your father!"

"No, you're not!"

"Loki, sweetie, please, calm down," Frigga begged. She set Loki's papers on the coffee table before collecting her son in her arms. "You're upsetting all of us, especially your father."

Loki shoved Frigga away. "That man is not my father!"

"If he's not your father, than I'm not your mother!"

The boy paused to let her words sink in, before growling, "You aren't my mother." Frigga gasped and choked back a painful sob.

"How dare you address your mother in such a way!" Odin boomed. "Who do you think you are?"

"I have no clue who I am, seeing as I have lived my entire life as a complete lie!"

"What is going on?" Thor demanded as he entered the room. "I heard shouting."

"Did you know?" Loki asked.

"Know what, brother?"

"Did. You. Know?"

Frigga sighed shakily. "Loki has discovered his adoption papers in your father's study." When Thor paled, Loki knew the answer to his question.

"Are you serious?" he whispered. Then, at a much louder volume, shouted, "Are you _fucking_ serious?"

"Loki, language!" Odin warned.

"Brother, you must know how sorry I am that you found out this way," Thor apologized. "You should understand how your adoption means little to how I value you as my brother. It changes nothing."

"No, Thor, this changes everything!" Loki cried. He pointed an accusing finger at each family member. "You all were set to let me live a life as a naïve ignoramus, weren't you? Let me live in the dark until the light diminishes completely? Was that your goal all along?"

"Loki, darling, please -" Frigga began.

"Quiet, _Frigga_," the raven-haired boy hissed. At that moment, Odin snapped. He grabbed his younger son by his neck and threw him onto the floor. Frigga shrieked and bawled at her husband's reaction, shouting at him several obscenities before crumbling on the floor like a young child. Thor, however, responded by shoving his father away from Loki, soon leading to a fist-fight between the two large men.

Loki remained still on the floor, watching his life shatter before him. He tried closing his eyes. Maybe it was all a terrible dream, and soon he'll wake up in his bedroom and learn that everything is all right.

Tears fell from his eyes when he reopened them.

Less than a year later, Loki found himself staring at the face of another Odinson: Baldur. So many relatives cooed over the baby. How the baby had some feature of Odin or Frigga's. How the baby looked like his big brother - Thor, not Loki, the sour teen reminded himself. He refused to watch after or give the baby the time of day. Baldur was just another reminder that he would forever be the black sheep of the Odinson family.


	2. Chapter 1

Loki had sworn to himself that he'd stay devoted to his beloved at all costs. No man, woman, or creature could come between his love for Sigyn and Nari. Several have tried, all had to face the fact: he had no interest in any of them. In fact, his interest in any humans had dwindled to nil over the years. When Thor's friends started picking on him for this, he turned cruel. They learned their lesson when Loki had paid someone to get a large wad of bubblegum entangled in Sif's hair, resulting in her hair being cut short. It'd yet to grow back to its previous glorious length.

When Thor came home one day and introduced the family to Jane Foster, whom his parents thought was the perfect future daughter-in-law, Loki decided that life was too unfair.

Nearly halfway through his senior year, during lunch, one of his acquaintances' (he refused to call them friends) breasts were right in his face, with their owner's voice demanding, "Whatcha got there, Lokes?"

He sighed and moved the chest out of his face - by pushing back a shoulder. "Please, Amora, refrain from sticking your nose in my personal life. And while you're at it, redo the first three buttons of your uniform shirt. You're attracting unwanted attention."

Amora huffed as she obeyed Loki's request. "Not my fault guys are perverts," she muttered, looking at the nearby table of jocks who had been admiring her exposed chest. "Well, all guys but you, that is." To her right, Skurge, her boyfriend, was silent, but did send a threatening glance at the boys who'd been ogling her. They quickly stared at their lunches with pale faces.

"Are you saying that you actually enjoy undressing for men? In that case, you'll make a great stripper," Loki said, his voice heavy with its usual sarcasm.

Another huff. "Don't change the subject, Lokes. Show me that paper," she demanded again. "You've always got one, and you never show anyone. I asked Thor, but he's as dumb and clueless as his friends." Loki had to suppress a smile. "So just show me!"

"Fine," Loki acquiesced. "But don't complain when you find yourself disappointed."

"If it's something deep and personal, I'll be too fascinated to be disappointed," Amora said, smiling. When Loki held out the paper for her to read, she scowled. "I take back what I said. What the hell is that?"

Loki took the paper back. "It's a letter from a friend. You know, what people did before e-mail and text messaging existed?"

"I know what the hell a letter is, you smartass. But what does it _say_? It's not even in English!"

"My point exactly, darling. I wouldn't have shown you my letter if it were, now would I?"

Amora let out a groan and slumped in her chair. "Such a tease," she sighed. Skurge still remained silent, rather focusing on his lunch. Loki smiled to himself, grateful that none of his acquaintances knew how to speak Norwegian.

After two minutes of silence from the blonde, she gasped histrionically and shook Loki by the arm. "Oh, my god, I can't believe it!" she exclaimed.

"Believe what?" Loki asked, knowing she'd pester him if he didn't humor her.

"There's trouble in paradise!" Amora dragged her chair closer to Loki and whispered loudly, "Rumor has it that Pepper Potts _totally_ dumped Tony Stark this morning! Says she can't deal with his cheating and bullshit or something like that. And they're _totally_ not sitting at the same table today!"

Again, to humor Amora, Loki turned his head to look at the table that Tony Stark's group usually claimed. There were the usual boys - Stark, Rogers, Rhodes, Barton, and Banner - and Romanoff, but no Potts. The cheerleader was sitting with the rest of her squad, gossiping like nothing was wrong. The group tried not to pay her any attention. Then Loki noticed how the rest of the cafeteria seemed to be engrossed in the "trouble in paradise". Most eyes were glued on one of the two tables, and the usual loud, obnoxious shouts were replaced with hushed tones about rumors they'd heard.

"Petty," he said. "Does the student body have nothing better to concern themselves with?"

Amora smacked his shoulder. "Are you kidding me?" she cried. "Tony Stark, the richest, smartest, and, not to mention, _hottest_ boy in our school, is now _single_ for the first time in months! What is there not to talk about?"

"Should I remind you of your relationship with Skurge over there?"

Skurge didn't react, or seem to care about his girlfriend's fawning. Amora sighed when Stark upped and left his table. The cafeteria was momentarily silent when he walked out, then continued spreading rumors when he was out the doors.

"I'll bet he's going to find a teacher to help him forget about that slut Pepper," Amora said. "He probably could sleep with anyone he wanted." When Loki tried to leave the table, she tugged on his sleeve. "Where are you going?"

"The restroom," he answered. "I need to get away from these crazed teenagers before I stoop to their level." He freed his arm and excused himself more politely to Skurge.

In the bathroom, he splashed tap water on his face and tried to clear his mind. He couldn't stand how teenagers in the twenty-first century conducted themselves. Obsessing over people whose lives were somehow always significantly better or much worse than their own. Wearing as little clothing as possible to not be considered public indecency. Unable to mind their own business. It was nearly suffocating. Just six more months, he reminded himself as he dried his face with a scratchy paper towel. Six more months, then no more tomfoolery trying to destroy what was left of his sanity.

In his pocket, his cellphone buzzed. Loki pulled it out to see who it was. Sigyn. Unable to ignore her, he immediately answered phone and said, "_Hallo?_"

"_Well hello to you too, Loki,_" Sigyn replied. "_Sorry I haven't been able to call you sooner. Between Nari, school, and my parents..._"

Loki smiled at the sound of his son's name. "_Det er greit. Engelsken din er i bedring_."

"_And your Norwegian is flawless, as always. A bunch of my girlfriends pooled some money and bought me Rosetta Stone to help improve my English, but I thought of saving it for Nari to use when he's older._"

"_Og hvordan er Nari?_"

"_Oh, just wonderful. His new favorite game is Pull On Mommy's Hair Until She Screams. He wins every time._" In the background, Loki could hear another voice, one he hadn't heard before. "_Shoot, he's awake. I have to put him back to bed - _"

"Wait!" Loki cried, returning to his foreign tongue in his desperation. "Let me speak to him!"

"_...And say what? He's only two. He doesn't know that many words._"

"That matters little to me. Just the sound of his voice should be enough. Please, Sigyn?"

He heard her sigh, then agree, "_Okay._" He heard her muffled voice, then silence.

"Nari?" he asked weakly.

"..._Pappa?_" a weak voice replied. Loki felt himself tear up at his son's beautiful voice. "_Pappa, er det deg?_"

"_Ja, sønn, det er meg._" His voice cracked, but it didn't matter to Loki. All that mattered was his son. "_Pappa elsker deg veldig mye._"

"_Jeg elsker deg osgå, Pappa_."

As fate would have it, his phone died on him at that very moment. Loki wasn't horribly upset by this. He heard his son tell him he loved him. That was more than he could ever hope for.

The very next moment, he heard someone sniffling. He stiffened, unaware someone had been listening to his intimate, albeit mostly non-English, conversation. He was angry at the intruder, until he heard the boy sniffle again. The eavesdropper was crying in one of the stalls.

Then he heard a faint mutter. "Shit," said the crier. Something metal crashed to the floor, like the boy hit it off the wall. Loki tensed as he recognized the voice - more specifically, hearing _Tony Stark_'s voice. Yes, he understood that some sadness came from the end of his and Pepper's relationship. However, he hasn't expected Tony to react so poorly. Wasn't this the boy who took great pride in counting the number of women he had slept with?

Loki was unsure how to react. Should he confront the boy, or let him cry in peace?

He chose the latter, composing himself and returning to his usual bitter state before returning to the cafeteria.

Of course, he regretted his decision when he saw the last person he wanted to deal with today sitting at his table, with Amora practically on his lap. Loki bit his tongue and sat down, his glare fixed on the newcomer.

"What do you want, Fandral?" he demanded.

"Just thought I'd check up on my favorite person," the blond replied, before flashing a grin that made Amora swoon. "You know, since you don't hang out with us anymore."

"Is it that hard to accept that your presence irks me?" Loki wished lightning would strike Fandral, or the earth would open up and swallow him whole. Maybe then would he finally have peace from this man.

"How could anyone be annoyed by sweet little Fandral?" Amora asked with a pout.

"My fair maiden, let me assure you that there's nothing little about me," Fandral said in a deep tone. Amora nearly fainted on the spot.

"And let me assure you that she's taken, you swine," Loki spat.

"Does that mean you're up for grabs?"

_That ignorant little..._ "If you so much as lay a finger on me, you'll lose an entire hand."

"That's alright by me; I love a girl who plays hard-to-get."

As the bell rang, Loki stormed out of the cafeteria, with Amora chasing after him and whining, while Fandral keeled over on the floor, clutching the spot where Loki had punched him. For someone who looked thin enough to snap in half by a gentle breeze, he had one hell of a left hook.

* * *

Each Saturday evening, as a tradition in the Odinson household (and because Odin and Thor were always busy), the family would eat dinner together. They were always gathered around the dining room table, with a feast large enough to serve as leftovers until the next Saturday came along. As expected, Odin sat at the head of the table, with Frigga on the other side. Thor sat to his father's left, and Loki to the right. Baldur, currently twenty months, sat between Frigga and Loki. The sixth chair, a newer edition, was reserved for Jane, whenever she could make the family meals.

Loki remembered when Jane's chair remained empty, and the place where Baldur's highchair stood was where Sigyn would sit. He despised Jane and Baldur for being a part of these family meals. And his family for having them in the first place.

This was a Saturday with Jane in attendance, and she quickly brought Loki in the conversations he usually ignored. "How do you feel about blind dating?" she asked right off the bat.

"I find them to be tedious and unnecessary," he answered.

"Loki, don't be rude," Frigga chastised.

"My apologies, Jane. What I meant to say was, I'm uninterested."

"What? How did you know I was gonna set you up on one?" Jane whined. _How unladylike_.

"Because I could see it in your wicked smile," Loki said.

"Loki, it has been three years since you've had a mate," Thor pointed out. "I remember the girl you used to be in love with. You were so heartbroken when she left."

Loki gritted his teeth. How dare Thor bring that up! "And your solution is to see if I can go through the same traumatic experience with another person?"

"That's enough of you drama, Loki!" Odin boomed. "Appreciate the trouble Jane went through to set you up on this date. And before you protest any more, you _will_ be going on this date."

When Loki scowled, Jane quickly added, "I can personally guarantee that you won't be disappointed!"

"And how are you so sure? Can you see into the future?" Loki interrogated.

"No, but I did have some help choosing this person! They're in the Science Club with me, and to be honest, the two of you have more in common than you think."

"Ah, yes, you surely do," Thor laughed. "I had your friend Amora help us choose someone suited to your standards. She claims you need someone who, in her own words, is as arrogant as you are. I don't understand what she meant by that."

"Amora and I are only acquaintances, not friends," Loki muttered. He dropped his fork on his plate and pushed his chair back from the table. "I'm no longer hungry."

"Loki, don't go into hiding so soon," Frigga pleaded. Loki didn't respond, just picked up his plate and shuffled around his father to get into the kitchen. After scraping off his plate and placing his dishes in the sink, he stomped all the way upstairs and into his bedroom, where he could sulk in peace.


	3. Chapter 2

As most people assumed, Loki had never been on a date before. After freshman year, he avoided all forms of human contact, with the exception of those idiotic enough to approach him and Frigga. Therefore, when his forced date night came along that Friday, he called the one person he knew he could trust to help him look dashing enough to dazzle his date.

"You need to update your wardrobe," Amora chastised. "Almost every dress shirt you own is green or black, minus _one_ gold shirt. What the hell do you wear on dates?"

"I don't have to worry about that, because this is my first," Loki replied with a sigh. He was beginning to regret asking for help.

"I can tell. I probably would've said no to the second date if you looked like this on the first. That's why I pick Skurge's outfits."

"Are they all clothes that you can easily remove?"

Amora stuck out her tongue. "That's beside the point." She grabbed one of the green shirts and threw it in Loki's direction. "At least you have taste in fabrics. Silk must look fabulous on you."

Loki knew not to respond, and instead chose to remove his t-shirt and put on the one his acquaintance (this didn't make them friends) tossed at him.

"So, who is the lucky girl or guy who will make an honest man out of you?" Amora continued as she held up two pairs of slacks - one black, one khaki.

"I believe it's called a blind date for a reason," Loki muttered, snatching the black pants and ignoring the comment about his sexuality. As he changed into them, he added, "All I know is that the person is in the Science Club. And I thought you helped with the decision process."

"I didn't get the chance. They told me to give an example of your ideal person. Was someone with your arrogance and lack of social skills not enough to go from?"

"You told them to find someone lacking in social skills?"

"No. I didn't really think that needed to be emphasized."

Loki rolled his eyes. "I'm not entirely sure who my date is. I've never met anyone in the Science Club, nor do I know anyone in it besides Jane."

Amora thought about it. "I know there's Darcy Lewis. I swear she's only there so Jane isn't alone, because she's more street smart than book smart. There's that Hank kid from my psych class, but he's dating Janet. And the only other names I can think of are Bruce Banner and Tony Stark..."

As soon as her eyes twinkled, Loki knew what she was thinking. "Don't you dare suggest what I know you–"

"Oh, my god, you're going on a date with one of the most popular guys in school! This is so exciting!" Amora squealed. "I can't wait to tell Skurge about this!"

"You have no idea if you're even right!" Loki cried.

"I know I'm right!" Amora jumped onto the bed and grabbed Loki's hands. "When Tony and Pepper broke up, it was only a matter of time before he moved on. And to think that he's going to be the boyfriend of my very own _best friend!_"

"We are not friends," Loki growled.

"We totally are, so shut up," Amora scolded. "And as best friends, you must name me the godmother of your children and tell me every juicy detail of your soon-to-be sex life."

"There will be no children for you to fawn over, or any tales of what happens in the privacy of a bedroom, because there will be no coupling of myself and Tony Stark." Loki pulled himself from Amora's grasp. He still had to find socks and shoes, and not to mention an excuse to get himself out of this ridiculous double date.

"Loki, are you clothed?" Frigga asked from the other side of the bedroom door.

"Yes, Mother," Loki answered drily. Frigga opened the door and smiled at her younger son.

"You truly are handsome," she said with a sigh. "Now, hurry up. Thor and Jane are waiting downstairs for you."

"Yes, Mother."

Once Frigga left and the door was shut, Loki turned to Amora and said, "Not another word out of you. Knowing my luck, my date will be Darcy Lewis."

"Don't be so down in the dumps, Loki."

Loki almost commended he unusual nicety, until she added, "Based on your luck, your date will be Banner."

* * *

"Are we picking her up on the way, or are we meeting her at the restaurant?" Loki asked from the backseat.

He noticed the look Jane and Thor shared before Jane answered, "We'll meet them there."

_Them?_ "Are you trying to hint that my date is male?"

"Brother, before you throw a fit, we weren't exactly sure what gender you preferred," Thor said quickly. "But we do think he is a good match for you. And recently single, may I add."

Loki's blood was boiling. "So how should I greet Stark on our date? And before either of you ask how I knew, let's just say that between Amora and Thor's comments, it wasn't too hard to put two and two together."

As the car stopped at a red light, Jane punched Thor's shoulder, who muttered a comment about hitting the driver. "Tony is a great guy, Loki, as much as the rumors suggest otherwise. He truly is a genius. When we told him it was you, he did mention that he found you intriguing." She turned around to smile at the brooding teen in the backseat. "Maybe he's always had a thing for you."

"I hope we get in a car accident that kills me before we reach our destination," Loki replied bitterly.

"Ah, one could dream, brother, but we are already here," Thor said as he pulled into a parking lot. It was almost full, but not full enough for Loki not to be able to see Tony Stark perched atop the hood of his car with a cigarette dangling from his lips. When Thor pulled up next to him, Tony stamped out it on the ground and stood up, making sure his clothes were in neat condition. Loki was ready to vomit. Before he could lock himself in the car, Thor yanked him (quite roughly, Loki thought to himself) out of the backseat.

"There's my lovely date," Tony greeted with a smirk. When Loki looked more pissed than surprised, he whined, "Thor! I told you not to say anything!"

"To be fair, he figured it out before your name was mentioned," Thor replied.

"You said he was single, male, and arrogant," Loki said. "It wasn't too hard to figure out who you were talking about."

"Ah, so you do know about the rest of the school population. I've only seen you with that blonde buxom and her scary-as-hell boyfriend," Tony remarked. "Then again, I've never met anyone who doesn't know my name."

"Like I said, arrogant."

Jane coughed. "I guess we should go inside now," she suggested. She gave Loki an apologetic smile as she added, "I hope you don't mind, Thor and I thought it'd be better if we sat at separate tables. Let the two of you get to know each other better."

Loki wasn't going to make their deaths accidental. He wanted everyone to know he killed them. "That's fine," he said stoically. "As long as Thor doesn't spray half-eaten food in my face."

"I do not!" Thor cried.

"Oh, please, you have no table manners whatsoever!"

"So, what was it Jane said about going inside?" Tony interrupted. "I think now's as good a time as any to go in!" He held out his arm to Loki, who made a face. "I promise I don't bite."

Loki acquiesced, linking arms with his date. "If you dare to add, 'Unless you want me to' to your statement, you will lose several limbs."

"Duly noted: you dislike innuendos."

"Good. Then we are on the same page."

* * *

They had only received drinks so far, and Loki has counted twelve topics that Tony has covered over the course of their date, almost all about himself. God, he was right to call this man arrogant. Loki may have never dated, but at least he could figure out that the first date was supposed to be about getting to know each other. So far, he knew that Tony spent his free time in a lab, he referred to Banner and himself as "Science Bros", he built his own cellphone, and has had sex with at least five different women, most of them having already graduated from their school. Loki hadn't spoken more than five words since they sat down.

"So, what made you choose SHIELD Academy?"

Loki looked up from his glass of water. "Hmm?"

"SHIELD," Tony repeated. "I was wondering why you go there. I mean, it's not a bad school or anything, but it's, you know, expensive as hell to attend."

What kind of question was that? "If you must know, Thor is the only one being paid for," Loki answered. "I attend on a full-paid scholarship for my academics."

"Wow, really? That's cool. I didn't know there were other people that smart."

"Are you questioning my intelligence, Stark?"

"No! No, I'm not saying that you're dumb or anything. I just haven't met anyone other than Bruce who's smart enough not to pay, either."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "You have an academic scholarship as well," he deadpanned.

"They don't call me a genius for nothing," Tony answered cheekily. Loki noted how he hadn't stopped grinning since they entered the restaurant. "After all, I'm gonna be the youngest graduate in the class."

That caught Loki's interest. "I highly doubt it," he said.

"Really? Because I'm only sixteen, going on seventeen." Tony made this seem like a challenge. Loki decided to take the bait.

"You aren't the only one turning seventeen this year, Stark," he said. "I will be seventeen on February ninth."

Tony's grin grew. "Got you beat by three months. Tenth of May." He paused the conversation as the waitress brought them salads and breadsticks, before continuing, "I had no idea there was someone else who skipped a grade too. I feel like I might have some competition as well. But if you're a senior, and Thor's a senior, and the two of you are only a year apart... Wow, your parents were sex animals."

"First of all, Thor and I are not blood related. Second, refer to his parents again as 'sex animals' and I will castrate you."

"Wait... you and Thor aren't related?"

"That's a bit personal to ask about, don't you agree?"

"Oh, is it? Sorry 'bout that. Pepper always gave me shit for not knowing my limits."

"Is that why you two are no longer together?" Loki asked. Tony's smirk fell. "My friend has been going on and on about your separation. Is it because she couldn't tolerate you anymore, or is it because of your change in sexuality, since I was told that you find me intriguing."

Tony didn't answer right away, rather paying more attention to his salad. After a few moments of silence between the boys, Tony said, "And you say my questions are personal."

"From what I've gathered, you are rather shameless about the information you share with the general public, correct?" Loki countered.

"You're not wrong about that," Tony said with a chuckle. "To answer your question, Pepper and I have a long history, and after all these years of being friends, and then being more than friends, things just... fell apart." He grinned again. "And to the reference to my sexuality, I don't believe in it. You love whoever you love, and that's that. I do find you 'intriguing,' as you've put it. I mean, there's no one like you. I always like trying new things."

"With that kind of outlook on life, you're bound to get into trouble," Loki muttered.

Tony shrugged. "I don't mind trouble. Besides, it's hard to deny how unbelievably attractive you are."

"Stark, I'd recommend you keep such comments to yourself from now on."

For most of the date, Loki kept his head down, praying that Tony wouldn't notice his reddening cheeks.

* * *

"Looks like Point Break and his girl are about ready to leave," Tony said as he looked around Loki, who turned and saw Thor and Jane fighting over who would pay the bill.

"It appears so," Loki agreed.

"Well, I had fun. You know, with you."

Who else was there for him to have fun with? And on that note, what part of this date was fun? Between the awkward silences and extremely personal questions? Loki decided not to get Tony's hopes up. "Before you ask, I'm not interested in being with you romantically," he said.

Tony frowned. "How blunt of you."

"Look, Stark, I do think you're a rather... unique person. But I have no interest in dating. I didn't even ask for this evening. But, if you want, we can remain... _friends._" How strangely that word rolled off his tongue. It felt too foreign for his taste.

"If you insist." Tony thanked their waitress as she handed him the checkbook, before just giving her his credit card and flashing another smile. He turned his attention back to Loki. "But I know I'll be able to break down those concrete walls of yours eventually."

"Excuse me?"

"I can tell that you're trying to stay guarded. You refuse to let anyone in. Your friends, your family, myself, et cetera. But not even concrete lasts forever. One of these days, I'll get through to you and figure out who Loki Odinson truly is."

Loki was dumbfounded. Never had anyone, other than his mother and Thor, seemed so intent on solving the puzzle that was himself. Yes, Amora could read him like a book, but she didn't know everything there was about him. Why was it Stark insisted on being Loki's friend? Or his partner, for that matter? Anyone and everyone knew Stark got what he wanted, but why him?

"Don't bet any money on it," he said as he stood up. "And for future reference, do not call me by that surname. It irks me to no end."

Tony was abandoned at the table as Loki followed Thor and Jane out of the restaurant. Loki promised himself that he'd kill Amora for jinxing his date.


	4. Chapter 3

"Good afternoon, love," Loki answered his phone at ten the following morning.

"_Good morning_," Sigyn replied with a giggle. "_We're sticking with English today?_"

"My family is out to see colleges with Thor. They won't be home for hours."

"_Too bad my parents love hovering over me and Nari. My mother has been teaching him the names of shapes and colors all day. So far, he's learned that Mommy's hair is yellow._"

"Is he still pulling your hair?" Loki imagined chubby little hands grabbing Sigyn's blonde curls and tugging mercilessly at them.

"_I pity the child who'll try to steal toys from him when he enters pre-school. But enough about us, how have you been? We haven't talked about you in a millenia._"

Loki fell back onto his bed and groaned. "You'll never believe what Thor and his girlfriend did to me last night."

"_The scientist?_"

"Yes, that one. They set me up on a - I still can't believe it - a _blind date_, with one of the most self-obsessed men on the globe."

"_They set you up with a man?_"

"Yes, because they didn't know my exact sexuality. And my family forced me to attend the date because I haven't been with anyone since you left."

"_Loki..._"

"I can't believe that they all think I need to have the perfect relationship like Thor! You know, that's really what it's all about."

"_Loki..._"

"It's not so surprising that they approve of the son of a billionaire who turns out to be the next Stephen Hawking. Maybe it's because - "

"_Loki!_"

"Yes, my love?"

He heard Sigyn sigh heavily. "_Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to turn down a relationship with another, even if it's with a man. Your family may have a point._"

Loki's heart fell through the floor. "But I have you," he said quietly. "We have each other, remember?"

"_How do you have me when we're thousands of kilometers apart? Loki, you and I both know that this long-distance relationship of ours cannot be romantic, if it's anything more than friends._"

"'Anything more than friends'?" Loki cried. "Need I remind you that we have a child!"

"_Yes, we do, Loki! We have a beautiful son, and I'm so glad we have Nari! But let's face it, as of this moment, we can't be a real couple._"

Loki knew Sigyn better than this. This was the woman he loved. He knew her inside and out. So he could easily read into her tone. "What's his name?" he asked calmly.

"_Loki, don't start..._" Sigyn began.

"No, Sigyn, I want you to tell me his name!"

"_...His name is Theoric. We have classes together, and we just... clicked._"

He wasn't hearing this. Sigyn wasn't telling him any of this. None of this was real. "I must go now," Loki said through clenched teeth.

"_Don't act like this - _"

Loki hung up on Sigyn and chucked his phone across the room, before curling up on his bed and weeping for hours over his lost love.

* * *

"If you pull on my sleeve one more time, Amora, you're death will be equivalent to Dostoevsky's father," Loki threatened during lunch. Last night, after he finished crying his eyes out, his mood quickly turned sour. Anyone who spoke to him was immediately lashed out at. No one was an acceptance, including Frigga and Odin, who never tolerated his bitter moods. He'd held his tongue in school, lest he wanted to visit the principal's office, but Amora had spent the first five minutes of lunch pestering him. His patience was unstably thin at this point.

"This time it's important!" Amora insisted, almost begging.

"I highly doubt that," Loki snorted.

"But Loki - "

"I don't want to hear it."

Skurge, who rolled his eyes at the two, said quietly, "Tony Stark will most likely be sitting next to you in approximately five seconds."

Loki's sharp hearing picked up on the sentence. "I beg your pardon?"

"Oh, so you'll listen to _him_, but not your best friend," Amora said with a frown.

"You're not my best friend, Amora, and I don't want any friends."

"That's a shame," Tony said as he sat in the open seat next to Loki, just as Skurge had warned. "As I recall, on Saturday, you said we could be friends."

Amora's mouth was stuck in a wide 'O', until Tony shut it gently with a warning that her facial expression was akin to a sex toy. She giggled and elbowed Skurge with excitement.

"Why are you here, Stark?" Loki asked.

"Oh, no reason in particular," Tony drawled with a smirk. "But let's just say that I'm not one to take a no and walk away with it."

"Like you said earlier, I said we could be _just friends_. I highly doubt that's considered rejection."

"You denied us going on a second date before I asked. That's my only form of rejection, like, ever."

"Well, Stark, there's a first time for everything - _OW_!" Loki rubbed his shoulder and glared at Amora, whose hand was still balled in a fist. "Why did you punch me?"

"Because you should've called me and told me how right I was!" Amora whined. "I _so_ told you that you were going on a date with Tony Stark!"

"If I was going to tell you about it, it would've been while I was strangling you with my bare hands."

"If you want to know so desperately how the date went, we went to that new place uptown and had a nice, quiet meal," Tony told Amora, devilish grins growing on their faces. "We waxed nostalgic about our separate youths, made out passionately, and then he wrote his phone number on my hand with a little heart."

"The only thing that happened was the dinner," Loki corrected after Amora stopped squealing. He noticed that nearby tables were staring at them and shifted uncomfortably.

Skurge ate his lunch as if it were a normal day.

"So, Tony, what made you want this tall, pale, brooding boy to be your date?" Amora continued. Before Loki could protest, her hand was firmly clamped over his mouth. While some people turned back to their own lunches and conversations, others became interested in the rather amusing spectacle.

"Well, for one, I have a newfound weakness for tall, pale, and brooding," Tony began. Loki nearly stabbed someone with his spork when Tony had the gall to _wink_ at him. "Along with that, I think that our little Loki here is something special. I can't figure out what it is about him, but I know there's another Loki inside of him that I want to draw out and expose to the world."

"Aw, that's so _sweet_," Amora gushed. She moved her hand from Loki's mouth to cuff him on the head. "Why can't you appreciate how romantic he is?"

"Because as much as it breaks your heart, I'm not you," Loki spat. "Now, if you'll excuse me - "

"Hey, Loki!" Fandral announced as he dragged a chair from a nearby table and planted it between Loki and Tony. He was right in the former's face, making sure he was the focal point. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"You were over my house last night, as I recall it, trying to lure me from my room to play some ridiculously violent video game," Loki said. He hated his life right now.

"Well, it's been nearly one day! That's a while to me." Fandral looked around Loki to Amora. "And there's your lovely friend, too."

"And next to her is her boyfriend, and on the other side of the room is where you should be sitting," Tony cut it. "Move it, Prince Charming, I was here first."

Fandral scoffed at Tony, something few dared to do (the obvious exceptions being his friends). "With all due respect, Stark, I've been present in Loki's life longer than you've known his name. If we're basing this off of technicalities, I was here long before you were."

"You son of a - !"

"Goodbye, Fandral," Loki interrupted with a glare. "Your presence is long past welcoming. I'd prefer if you left me alone from now on."

Fandral looked almost scandalized. "Fine," he said through bared teeth. "I shall speak to you when I come by your house later today."

"No, you shall not. Good day." Loki could finally relax when Fandral stormed away. That is, until he saw that _all eyes_ were on him now.

Tony found this amusing. He and Amora waved to their audience with matching cheeky smiles, while Loki upped and ran out of the cafeteria. The stares, the whispers from those who wondered if their friends understood what was going on. It was too much. Loki never stood out. Even though he was Thor's younger brother, no one paid him the time of day. (Then again, the rumors about Loki made him someone you didn't want to run into.) He wasn't going to start becoming the hot topic now.

* * *

It wasn't until he reached his locker when he was finally able to breathe again. And it wasn't until he caught his breath when he sensed someone watching him.

"You know, if you cut through the gym, you could've gotten here faster," Tony said.

"What do you want now, Stark?" Loki snapped. "Did you not humiliate me enough in the cafeteria?"

"Loki, I'm not trying to humiliate you."

"Then what was the purpose of bothering me?"

"I already told you. I was trying to ask you out on date numero dos."

"And I already told you that I'm not romantically interested in you."

"I think that you're just afraid that you actually like me and wouldn't want others to know that you're not some sort of robot."

Loki rolled his eyes and moved to open his locker. "For someone who's supposed to be a genius, your thoughts are as dim as Thor's."

"I'll assume that I'm right."

Loki ignored Tony as the bell rang, and focused his attention on swapping notebooks. As the hall flooded with students, and the silence that Loki adored so much vanished, his noticed a certain book being waved in his face.

_The Pilot and His Wife_ by Jonas Lie.

Yes, Sigyn's dog-eared book that she'd been reading when she and Loki first spoke. Before she left for Norway, she left the book in Loki's care. He's read it dozens of times since she left, and was in the middle of another reading. And now, it was in Tony's hands. He reached for it quickly, only for Tony to hold the book out of his grasp.

"Stark, give me the book," he said calmly.

"Not just yet," Tony insisted. Loki wanted to smack that damn smirk from his face. "I want something first."

"Stark, _now_."

"Ooh, that sounded a bit sensitive. Is this book important to you?"

Loki was going to kill him slowly. "You don't understand. That book belongs to a... friend."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "_Just_ a friend?" he asked suggestively. "Hm, sounds like you may have someone who you care about, Loki."

This was torture. "Look, Stark, whatever you want, I'll do it," Loki pleaded. "Just give me the book, _please_." When Tony pretended to think about it, Loki went to desperate measures. "Anthony," he began, placing a hand on Tony's chest, and internally enjoying catching him off-guard, "if it will please you, and if will make you hand me back my book, then I agree to a second date with you."

After seconds without either boy moving, Tony handed the book over. "You deserve it," he said. "After all, I did get you to call me by my first name."

"It's better than your nickname," Loki retorted. "Don't expect me to call you by that name in this lifetime."

"And what happens when you do?"

Loki shut his locker and glared at Tony. "Hell will freeze over." With that, he turned on his heel and walked away with what was left of his dignity.


	5. Chapter 4

Loki woke up early on the ninth of February to Thor standing over him, their faces mere inches apart.

Odin, Frigga, and Baldur woke up to Loki and Thor screaming at each other.

After the two parents threw bathrobes on themselves, and Frigga grabbed Baldur from his crib, they rushed to their middle son's room, only to see him straddling Thor and smacking him ruthlessly.

"You idiotic oaf!" he screamed. "What is wrong with you? Do you ever think before you act?"

"I did not mean to frighten you, brother!" Thor insisted as he tried to block Loki's hands. "I merely wanted to be the first to wish you a happy birthday!"

"_And just waiting for me to wake up and go downstairs was too difficult for you?!_"

"Now that you say that, it seems like a better idea..."

"_WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?!_"

"Boys! That's enough!" Odin boomed, interrupting the boys' fight. Loki delivered one last slap to Thor's face before standing up and brushing off his shirt and sweatpants. Thor rubbed his sore cheeks.

"Happy seventeenth birthday, Loki," Frigga said with a warm smile. She hugged Loki with her free arm and kissed his temple.

"Why couldn't you do it like this?" Loki asked Thor.

"Oh, so you wanted me to greet you with a kiss?" Thor replied. Loki wanted to smack that stupid grin right off his face.

"Birthday, Lo-lo!" Baldur cried gleefully.

"How do you plan on spending your special day?" Frigga asked.

Loki's face turned pink. "I, uh, had already been forced into plans with someone. I apologize."

"Don't be sorry, baby. It's your day, right?"

"Who did you choose to be with over your family?" Odin asked.

His cheeks had to be on fire, they were so unbearably hot. "The person I had gone on a date with last weekend."

Loki had to admit, he expected his brothers and mother to smile at this, but he hadn't seen Odin smile at anything he said in years. "Oh, so the date wasn't a complete disaster, was it?" Odin began laughing and slapped a hand on Loki's back, nearly knocking the boy over. "Ah, I'm glad you're getting back out in the world. It'll do wonders for you." With that, Odin dismissed himself to work in his office.

"Well, I'm going to make you some French toast," Frigga told her son. "But, if you want any, you have to watch Baldur so I can focus on breakfast."

"Mother..."

"Loki, you need to be in your brother's life. What if one day you come home and your Baldur has no idea who you are?"

"Who said I'd be home when that time comes?" Frigga didn't justify that with an answer, but instead thrust Baldur into Loki's arms and left the room. Loki balanced the baby on his hip and looked to Thor for help.

The blond sighed. "If you want, I can show you his favorite toys. They keep him occupied for hours."

"Reminds me of someone I know," Loki muttered as he followed Thor out of the bedroom. Thor didn't know the joke was directed at him and laughed it off.

* * *

Loki hadn't realized how nervous he was for his and Tony's second date. He'd spent nearly thirty minutes showering, and another hour checking his appearance in his bathroom mirror. He mentally agreed with Amora when he saw that no, he didn't have any colors other than green and black to choose from (not that he would ever tell her that). Rather than tackily wear black-on-black, he went for his only gold shirt and a nice pair of jeans. He then painstakingly looked for the right cologne and hair products to use before Thor warned him that Tony said he was on his way.

"Look at my son, all prim and proper," Frigga cooed. "So, when do I get to meet the lovely boy who made an honest man out of you?" In her arms, Baldur "ooh"ed at his big brother.

Loki froze. "I beg your pardon?" he squeaked.

"Oh, darling, did you really expect Thor to keep quiet? Your brother is many things, but a secret-keeper he is not." Frigga chuckled to herself. "Don't concern yourself about this. I will love you no matter who else you love."

"And Odin?" Loki added bitterly.

"You'll always be his son." When a car horn honked outside, Loki tried to escape out the front door, before Thor appeared out of nowhere and held him back.

"Get off, you ape!" Loki cried. "Mother!"

"Oh, hush, Loki, I asked him to do this," Frigga said. "How else will I get to meet the boyfriend?"

"_Mother!_" Loki was horrified at his family. He didn't want Tony to meet them, not like this! He swore his heart stopped beating when the doorbell rang.

"Why, you must be Anthony!"

"Just Tony, ma'am. Tony Stark."

"I know. We used to be close to your family back in the day. I'm Mrs. Odinson. If you want, you can just call me Frigga. Come on in, Loki's in the other room!"

"Hi!"

"Oh, this is Loki's brother, Baldur. He likes meeting new people."

"Hey, little buddy. How old are you?"

"One!"

"Thor, if you value your pathetic life, you'll release me this instant," Loki hissed to the blond.

Thor acquiesced, smirking as his brother tried to fix his appearance. "I'll have you know that I had insisted that mother refrained from getting out any photo albums or giving you The Talk," he said. "You're welcome."

Loki glared at him. "Your thanks comes in the form of less abuse."

"I'll take it."

Loki rushed into the entrance hall and grabbed Tony's arm, pulling him out the door and calling out a goodbye to his mother before he could be embarrassed any further.

"Colorful family you got there," Tony said as they climbed into the car. "You know, your mother has an interesting way of threatening anyone who dates her son."

"Please, just don't talk about it and drive," Loki said from behind his hands.

* * *

After a performance of _Othello_ at an old theater outside of town, followed by dinner at a lovely Hibachi grill (not to mention Tony's several failed attempts to catch pieces of shrimp in his mouth while Loki rolled his eyes), they ended up back at Tony's apartment. Tony introduced Loki to his creations, Dummy and You, both of whom made a good impression on Loki. After an hour of Tony showing off to his date, the two ended up in the living room, currently halfway through a bottle of Pinot Noir.

"I can't imagine _Thor_ of all people wearing a wedding dress!" Tony exclaimed, trying his hardest not to cry through his laughter.

"Well, the images do not lie," Loki said with a snort. "And just when I thought Mother's reaction was priceless, our father came into the room and nearly lost it at the sight of his eldest wearing his wife's gown."

Tony placed his wine glass on the coffee table before falling on the floor and giggling. Loki was able to keep himself under control, but he let himself smile behind his glass at the memory of Thor playing a bride. Hopefully, Tony wouldn't want to see any pictures; Loki didn't want to explain how he ended up dressing up as the bridesmaid.

Tony pulled himself together and sat back down on the couch, this time much closer to Loki than before. "You have so many stories," he said quietly, sweetly. "You just keep yourself locked up from the outside world."

Loki's expression darkened momentarily, but then decided that Tony would be too drunk to remember this night in the morning. He shrugged and replied, "The person locked up has many secrets to keep, Stark. You'd be horrified if you learned them."

"Well, isn't that the point of dating? We're supposed to learn each other's secrets. You know, gain trust from the other." Tony scooted closer, his and Loki's legs touching. "And you're not the only one who has something to hide, Loki."

"Who says that you don't?"

"I never did." Now Tony was close enough that Loki could feel his breath against his face. "Although I have something to confess."

"What is it?" Loki asked after regaining focus on something other than how deep of a brown Tony's eyes were.

"While Thor held you hostage, your mother gave you permission to stay the night here," Tony answered. "She doesn't want to see you until morning."

"That would be... be for the best..."

Loki almost went crazy when Tony finally closed the distance between them. He awkwardly placed his hands on either side of Tony's face while Tony hugged him around his waist, pressing their bodies together. The two started their kisses off slow and sweet, before gradually getting rougher with each other. After what felt like years of being attached to each other, they pulled apart, desperately gasping for air. Loki felt much too warm in his jeans and shirt.

"I think there's a room I should show you," Tony said.

"I would like to see it," Loki said. He found himself being led into the master bedroom, but unable to get a good enough view of the room before being thrown back on the bed and picking up where he and Tony left off.

* * *

Loki woke up in a room he didn't recognize. It wasn't until the arms around his bare torso pulled him back against the body behind him that he remembered he was in Tony's room. He relaxed into the touch and sighed. No, the two didn't have sex last night. After hours of nothing but kissing, undressing to their underwear, and groping certain body parts, they decided to go to sleep, after much whining from Tony. Loki wasn't ready for that step yet. Not after last time (although he knew that biology would prevent either of them from becoming pregnant).

The arms grew tighter around him. "Loki," Tony greeted breathlessly from behind.

Loki chuckled. "Good morning, Stark," he said.

"Sleep well?"

"Mmm, quite."

"Good. Then stay there while I make breakfast."

"No, don't leave. You're warm."

"Fine." Tony rolled Loki over so they were face-to-face. "Then kiss me to make up for my lack of bacon."

Loki chuckled before leaning forward, pressing their lips together.

That's when he suddenly panicked, threw on his clothes, and ran out the front door without giving Tony an explanation.


	6. Chapter 5

Loki leaned back against his bedroom door, sliding down until he was sitting on the hard floor. He was still unable to control his erratic heart rate, but his breathing had grown steadier for the most part.

Loki's ideal life was to spend his time locked in his bedroom, avoiding acquaintances, imbeciles, and family while he could, outside of school and family gatherings and meals. Yet there he was, only wearing boxers and kissing Tony Stark in bed, after spending all night asleep in said bed. After spending that night kissing and touching and stripping.

It was exhilarating. It was terrifying. He was opening up to Tony. He now felt exposed, stripped down and put on display for a boy he'd only been on two dates with. This wasn't who he was. Loki had standards. Standards that included keeping his clothes on. He wasn't ready to throw them out the window just yet.

There was a soft knock on his door. "Loki?" Frigga asked from the other side. "Darling, can you let me come in?"

"...Alright, Mother," Loki acquiesced. He stood up and unlocked the door. Frigga stood there, balancing Baldur on her hip with a sad smile. Loki wondered how many times he's seen his mother recently without his brother attached to her side.

"So, I take it your date didn't go too well," she guessed. "You want to talk about it?"

Loki groaned. "That's not the problem."

"You mean you're hiding in your room like a child because your date last night wasn't terrible?"

"The date has nothing to do with it!" Loki sat down on his bed, elbows resting on his thighs and head resting on his hands. "The date was phenomenal, actually. Much better than the first."

"I bet not having to go on a double date with your brother was relaxing." Frigga sat next to Loki, then seating Baldur between them. "Tony was a gentleman then?"

"Yes, Mother."

"And he didn't try to force himself upon you?"

"Mother!"

"You didn't come home upset because you two had a wild night in his bedroom."

Loki grabbed one of his pillows and buried his face in it. "Nothing like that happened, and it's not related to why I'm upset."

"Well, as a bit of passing advice, wear a turtleneck or scarf when your father or brother are around. That hickey on your neck may lead them to kill Tony."

Loki groaned into his pillow.

* * *

Loki didn't see Tony again until Friday. It wasn't too difficult to avoid him in school, or to delete every text and voicemail. Lunches were spent in the library or abandoned classrooms. He sat in Thor's car, unseen until Thor and the brutes appeared. He was off the radar. That is, until the end of the school day on Friday, when he was switching out textbooks, when Tony appeared at his locker. His usual smirk was missing, along with that sparkle in his eye Loki began to grown fond of.

"Long time, no see," Tony said.

"It appears so, Stark," Loki replied. He shut his locker and turned to his friend (if that's what he could assume they were now). "What do you want?"

"Kind of cold, considering what happened last week, don't you think?" There was no playfulness in his voice, nor his face. It was strange.

"My apologies," Loki said quietly. "I'm just…"

Tony reached forward, resting a hand against Loki's cheek. The other boy pushed gently against it, yearning for the touch he'd began to miss. Neither boy spoke for some time, doing nothing but staring at each other intently. It wasn't until one of Tony's friends called out his name from down the hall when the brown-eyed boy suggested that they take their conversation back to his apartment. Loki agreed, and sighed when he was told to warn his mother that he wouldn't be returning home until Saturday. Apparently, this would be a long story.

* * *

The two boys settled for laying down on Tony's bed, turned toward each other, shoes kicked off and at the foot of the bed, not saying a word to each other. They didn't know where to begin.

Tony decided he'd be the one to get the ball rolling. "Why did you leave like that?" he asked.

"I don't know," Loki said.

"That's kind of a shitty answer, don't you think?"

"Tony, it's not that simple."

"Then break it down so I can understand. Please." Tony moved his hand toward one of Loki's, one resting between their stomachs, and held it tightly. "If you're going to run away from this, from _us_, I deserve to know why."

_Deep breaths_, Loki told himself. _Just focus and tell him_.

"As you probably have gathered, I'm not one who builds close relationships with people. I mean, I used to. With Thor, with my parents, with…" _Sigyn_. He wasn't ready to bring up that topic yet. Loki quickly swept it under the rug, continuing, "So, when Jane announced that she set me up on a blind date, I was ready to wring her neck. And to find out the date was you – sorry, but I wasn't exactly jumping with joy."

"I noticed," Tony said, smirking. "But it was still a fun night, you know, getting to learn about you."

Loki let himself smile. "After the date, I must admit, I wasn't against Jane setting us up. And the second date, well…" He blushed a deep red. "I wasn't too disappointed by that night."

"Well, you haven't seen what I look like with_out_ my boxers on. _That_ won't be disappointing," Tony interrupted with a smirk. Then, more seriously, asked, "So if everything was going great, why the hell did you take off like that?"

"Because…"

"Because…? You can't leave me hanging like–"

"I'm scared!" Loki blurted. His eyes bugged as a hand flew to his mouth, cursing himself for being so clumsy with it. Tony, however, seemed understanding.

"I see," he said. "And your solution was running like a bat out of hell, rather than, you know, talking it out?"

"What is this, a sitcom? I didn't know what else to do!" Loki now covered his eyes with both hands. He couldn't bring himself to look at Tony's face. He grew flustered and ineloquent when he was nervous, and having Tony witness this was twenty times worse. "You must think I'm a fool."

"I don't." Loki peered through his fingers to see Tony smiling. "I think you're brave for admitting that you're scared shitless." Tony inhaled deeply. "You know about my parents' deaths, right?"

"Someone shot them in their car a few years ago," Loki said. "The media was all over that story for weeks. Oh, sorry for the insensitivity."

"Eh, fuck it. Anyway, when that first happened, I was fucked up. I kept myself locked up in my father's lab, building robots and fixing his inventions, because I didn't know how else to cope. I would spend days on end without food or water, or even _sleeping_. I eventually moved a cot down there, so I wouldn't have to leave it. Eventually, Obie – my legal guardian, and the CEO of Stark Industries for now – decided enough was enough. He moved me into this apartment and sold the mansion. All of the money is now sitting in my bank account. I almost killed him for that. I decided to hole up in the apartment, refusing to let anyone so much as knock on it."

"What changed your attitude?"

"When Natasha broke into the apartment so Pepper could punch me until I promised to go outside again. That was before we dated, too."

"I'm adopted," Loki found himself confessing. Tony gave him a puzzled look. "I know, it's not that surprising. I only found out a few years ago. It was an accident. I was looking for mine and Thor's social security cards, and instead I came across my adoption papers. The fight that followed was brutal. Thor fought his father for my honor, supposedly, despite being in on the secret as well." Loki wiped at the tears threatening to spill over. "One day, I met my new brother. He's just a small child, yet I hate him, because he was born into the family, while I'm the odd one out. The black sheep. The unloved son burdened on another family."

"I think I can relate," Tony said. "No one else knows but Pepper, but when I was going through all of my father's documents, I saw that I wasn't his or my mother's son. I belonged to another family - Lord knows who they are." He took Loki's hand. "Feeling unloved, it sucks ass."

"Indeed it does."

Tony chuckled softly. "We're two fucked-up guys, you know that?"

Loki nodded. "We truly are. But maybe that's what'll make this work out well."

"I sure hope so - wait, did you just say...?"

"I did, Stark." Loki snuggled against Tony, looking deep into his brown eyes. "I want us to keep this relationship of ours."

Tony replied by kissing his forehead. The two continued laying together, slowly succumbing to slumber with their fingers still wound together.


	7. Chapter 6

_You are cordially invited to the wedding of  
Natalia Alianova Romanova  
and  
Clinton Francis Barton  
on Saturday, April 6th, 2013_

"Since when have Barton and Romanoff been a couple?" Loki asked as he read the invitation over Thor's shoulder.

"For a while now, I assume," Thor replied. "It's not much of a surprise that they're together. Despite how they act, they do care for each other deeply. They're secretive enough for most people not to pick up on it."

"Ah, I see."

"Well, I think it's sweet that they're getting married," Jane called as she reappeared in the living room from the kitchen. She carried three glasses of water in her right hand - a trick Darcy taught her from a (very temporary) waitressing job - and set them on the coffee table, before sitting next to Thor. "A little soon, but sweet nonetheless."

"Fortunately, I was encouraged to bring a guest to their ceremony," Thor continued. "I hope you're free on the sixth of April, Jane."

"I am now."

"Ugh, you two are disgusting," Loki complained. "Perhaps I should've gone to the store with Mother rather than watch you two act this sickening all the time."

"Accompanying Mother would've required you to take care of Baldur and socialize with others - two things you equally dislike," Thor pointed out.

"Whatever." Just then, the doorbell rang. Jane kissed Thor's cheek before going to see who was there.

"You know, Loki," Thor said, "Tony Stark may be the one to bring out the side of you that you despise in myself and Jane. One day, you'll be the one sitting on the couch, except rather than holding another's invitation, it'll be your own."

"Thor, just because we have gay marriage does not mean I plan on having every man in the state propose to me," Loki replied.

"You do not plan on asking another man first?"

"Please, I'm not for kneeling on the floor. If he truly cared for me, he'd do it himself."

"In that case, I should've bought a ring before coming over," Tony teased from the doorway. Loki and Thor turned their heads to the other boy, Loki blushing faintly.

"Don't you dare attempt to propose to me, unless you want me to plan out your funeral so soon," Loki threatened.

"I'm touched that you would plan it." He stepped into the room and caught eye of the invitation in Thor's hand. "You got one too?"

"Aye, I believe Clint sent this to me," Thor said.

"We're planning on attending," Jane added. She sat next to Thor again and smiled warmly. "Are you, Tony?"

"Naturally," Tony answered, before grinning cheekily at Loki and adding, "I'll need a plus-one first. Are you busy on April sixth?"

"I won't know until that day what my plans are," Loki said.

"Brother, do not be so difficult," Thor scolded lightly. "You and I both know that you have no plans for that day."

"Correction: he's attending Clint and Tasha's wedding on that day now, as my date," Tony said.

"Continue grinning like that and I may have to smack it off his face," Loki warned.

"Is that a challenge? Perhaps you could try to kiss it off my face."

"I prefer my method."

"But I don't want your little hands to damage my perfect features!"

"Did you just say I have small hands?!"

Thor's hearty laugh interrupted their argument. "Ah, I believe Jane was right in pairing you two together," he declared. "I must admit, the two of you together is quite entertaining."

Tony hugged Loki close to him. "Does this mean I'm already accepted into the Odinson family?"

Loki punched him in the gut and stormed out of the room, Thor still laughing at their antics.

* * *

The wedding ceremony itself was a small, peaceful affair. The best man was Clint's older brother, Barney, and the maid of honor was Pepper Potts (which made things awkward when she spotted Tony and Loki together with a bitter grimace). The ceremony itself flew by. Loki had trouble paying attention with Tony's hand running up and down his thigh, and Loki constantly having to push it away. The vows between the couple were short and basic. Loki wondered if they purposefully made them more bland than expected, until Natasha jumped into Clint's arms and gave him one of the most sexual (and, for Loki, uncomfortable to watch) kisses he'd ever seen.

"I want to kiss you like that at our wedding," Tony had jested. Loki squeezed the area right above Tony's kneecap to keep his date in line.

After the ceremony ended, they had piled into several cars, all headed to Tony's place. The car ride was unbearable. It wasn't a big deal that Thor and Jane were sitting in the back seat. In fact, Tony told Loki that it'd be useful in the future, when Tony wants Thor to do something like lie about Loki's whereabouts for an evening or two to repay this drive (Loki shook his head, knowing fully well that Thor would fall for Tony's trick). But Pepper and her date, Happy, were in need of a ride, and the only car that could fit two more people was Tony's SUV.

"Why did you bring the SUV?" Loki has asked bitterly.

"Because your brother is built like a tractor?" Tony had replied with a sheepish shrug.

"More like a brick shithouse."

So Loki stared forward the entire car ride, ignoring the hole Pepper was burning in the back of his head with her unnerving glare. Happy, who was apparently an old friend of Tony's, thanked them for the ride. Jane and Thor were perfectly fine in the far back, doing things Loki never wanted to see or hear his brother do. He couldn't be happier to get to Tony's apartment, where they finally celebrated the way most teenagers do: letting all inhibitions go and going absolutely nuts.

* * *

Loki hadn't realized how much alcohol Tony had access to until the wedding reception. It was all stocked in the apartment long before today, based on the dust Tony wiped from the bottles. Of course, he assumed that with Tony's ability to get whatever he wants by being the son of Howard Stark, it wasn't too hard to buy alcohol, despite being five years too young.

"Excuse me, but I turned seventeen in a month," Tony pointed out when Loki vocalized his thoughts.

"Pardon me," Loki said. "You're still not twenty-one."

"Are you gonna call the cops? Or maybe you could dress up as a cop, and we can - "

Loki placed his hand over Tony's mouth. He didn't want to know how the fantasy was going to end.

"I wonder how such a couple would work," Loki wondered, watching as Clint and Natasha sat on one of the couches. They'd changed into jeans and shirts once they'd arrived, and hadn't spoken more than five words to anyone but each other. Both were nursing bottles of beer, barely taking sips. Neither showed any expression, minus Clint's hand gently caressing Natasha's cheek.

"They have history," Tony said.

"History?"

Tony took Loki to the hallway leading to the bedroom, where it was much quieter. "They're both in a tight situation," he began, "where marriage seemed like the only solution. You see, Nat's not from here."

"So she is from Russia? The rumors are true?"

"Yes, they are. She came over when she was young. But her parents weren't legal, obviously, so the government bent over backwards to get them deported. Right before they were caught, they dumped Nat at the orphanage. From there on, she let no one in, and let nothing show. Except to one person."

"Clint?"

"Clint and Barney were already at the orphanage. Barney could get along with anyone and everyone. Clint only talked to his brother. Then Nat comes into his life, and they... just clicked."

"Had they always been a couple?"

"That's the one thing I can't answer. No one knows when it happened. It just happened. End of story."

"So why are they married?"

"They're months from being kicked out of the orphanage. Barney had to work his ass off to get a full scholarship to college so he could live on-campus."

"But marriage?"

"Nat's still illegal. Out on the streets, she could be taken back to Russia at any given moment. Marriage keeps her in the States."

"Ah, that makes sense."

Tony grabbed Loki's hand, rubbing his thumb over the knuckles. "I believe that the most bizarre couples are the most everlasting ones," he said quietly. "That's why Pepper and I would've never worked out. We were too perfect. It was suffocating, almost."

"And you prefer a bizarre relationship with me, versus a normal, perfect relationship with Pepper?" Loki asked. He hinted at Tony's choice of dating a man over a woman.

"Your gender means nothing to me... well, of course, it'll make for a new level of foreplay, you know, when you're up for it."

"Anthony, please, not now."

"The point is, Loki, that I want you for you. I want the guy in front of me, who has really soft hands and can charm anyone into wetting themselves." Loki swore that Tony was blushing, and refrained from saying anything to keep from ruining the moment. Tony licked his lips and continued, "I know that you might still doubt our relationship, but I'm nowhere near giving up on this. One day, I know you'll be able to look me in the eye, and say that you love me, and..."

Loki grabbed Tony's face and pulled him into a kiss, soft and sweet. Neither boy tried to take it further, keeping it simple with their lips pressed together. Loki pulled away slowly, staring into Tony's eyes.

"I may not be able to say so in many words, but believe me when I say that my feelings for you run deep," he said quietly.

Tony nodded, staring back just as deeply. He looked down the hall and back. "We should probably head on back. Eventually, someone is going to assume the worst, and Thor will tear me to pieces."

Loki chuckled and agreed. He moved his hands from Tony's face and latched onto one of Tony's. Their fingers remained laced together for the rest of the reception.


	8. Chapter 7

On the morning of April seventh, Loki was a new person. It wasn't as dramatic to him as it was to his family when he didn't scowl or glower at everyone. Odin was tempted to call the family doctor before Frigga sighed and said, "He's in love. Remember how Thor was when he and Jane first started dating? He has the same twinkle in his eye..." Loki overheard and immediately denied it, then hid in his bedroom in embarrassment when Thor told his parents about Loki and Tony's hand-holding. Baldur, not knowing what his family was discussing, giggled and tugged on Frigga's curls.

Tony started coming to the Odinson house regularly. After school, when Thor had baseball practice or went out with Jane, Tony drove Loki home, and the two worked on homework together. Once in a while, they snuck up to the bedroom, but only when no one else was home. The one time they did so with the family home, Loki was overly embarrassed by Frigga walking in on them making out, leading to Loki's whining, Tony's silent staring at the floor, and Frigga's warnings about practicing safe sex. Since then, the two stayed in the living room. Tony hadn't come over when Odin was home. It was something Loki, Frigga, _and_ Thor decided was for the best.

At lunch, Tony would join Loki at his table (Loki was too proud to admit this, but Natasha scared the hell out of him, and wasn't quite ready to sit close enough to her without her being chained to a chair). Amora gushed over the couple nonstop. Tony often encouraged her, and maybe flirted once or twice, before jealousy took over both Loki and Skurge and they made Tony stop.

Loki even smiled. Genuine, non-forced smiles. Tony once told Loki that his smile was one of the best things about him. Loki made sure to save his real smiles for Tony.

"Mother, I refuse!"

"Oh, Loki, don't be so difficult."

"I'm not being difficult. I just have much better things to do with my time - and don't you dare retort by saying that 'better things' means Anthony!"

"You took the words right out of my mouth, darling."

"Mother!"

Frigga sighed, raking her fingers through her unkempt hair. She would need to tie it back. "Your father isn't going to the usual airport. This one is much larger, much more crowded, and it's no place for a baby. If Thor didn't have an away game, or if Jane wasn't there as well, I would've asked one of them first," she explained, exasperated. "Loki, you're the only person I have left, and I know you and Tony will be at the house. It surely won't kill you to watch Baldur for a few hours."

"I'm willing to put a wager on that assumption," Loki muttered.

"Hush. You're looking after your younger brother, and that's final." Frigga patted Loki's head and quickly left the house before Loki could respond, greeting Tony briefly as she passed him in the doorway.

"Where's your mom going?" he asked.

"To pick up Odin at the airport," Loki answered bitterly. "I'm tasked with caring for Baldur in her absence."

"You say that like it's the end of the world."

"How's it not?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "You'll live, babe."

"Ugh, don't use that term. It's disgusting." Loki's nose wrinkled as he turned to head upstairs. Tony followed, chuckling.

"You look adorable when your nose is scrunched like that," he said. "And you know you love my pet names for you."

"I'd prefer different terms of endearment."

"Like what, Princess? Oh, that's the perfect name!"

"Don't you dare, Anthony!"

"Until you call me Tony, I'm calling you Princess."

Loki groaned as he entered Baldur's room. The toddler was standing in his crib, smiling gleefully at his older brother with arms out. Loki picked up his brother and balanced him on one hip, while begging Tony to help him with his eyes.

Tony, who had absolutely no idea how to take care of a child, asked, "Uh, is your brother hungry?"

* * *

"The glorious outdoors!" Tony announced as he, Loki, and Baldur went into the backyard. "According to Natasha, kids love being outside!"

"Coming from the woman who once threatened to kill me in at least five different ways with just her left hand?" Loki replied.

"That's how Tasha expresses her love. Besides, when I asked if I could put my head between her thighs, she told me she could kill me like that. One hell of a way to go out, don't you think?"

Loki put Baldur down, who promptly stood up and began chasing a passing butterfly, and said, "If I find you between Natasha's legs - or anyone else's for that matter - I won't hesitate to castrate you."

"I always knew you were the jealous type." Tony wrapped his arms around Loki, his head resting on the taller boy's shoulder. "Don't worry, Princess. Your legs are the only pair I want to be in between."

"You're crude."

"And you're a tease."

"Keep that up and you won't have the chance to be between anything of mine."

Tony snorted. "So if I stop, does that mean I'll be getting some tonight?"

Before Loki could answer, Baldur let out a shriek, before plopping on the ground and wailing hysterically. Loki rushed over and gasped when he found the toddler's arms reddening as hives quickly formed. He saw a sprig of mistletoe in his brother's hands and quickly took it away from him. He picked up Baldur and tried to calm him down, while looking at a terrified Tony desperately.

"Please tell me your car is here," Loki almost begged.

Tony nodded. "I know a shortcut to the hospital. Do you have a carseat for him?"

"There's no time for a carseat!" Loki was surprised by his shouting. He just ran behind Tony through the house and quickly locked the doors before sliding into the backseat of Tony's car, still clutching Baldur. The redness and hives were still spreading, but less than it had when the mistletoe was touching him.

"Whatever you do, don't get us killed on the way," Loki snapped as Tony nearly flew out of the driveway. He ignored the reckless driving Tony was doing and instead tried to take Baldur's mind off the agonizing pain he must have been in.

Loki hadn't realized Tony made a call to one of the doctors at the hospital, who happened to be an old friend of his, but was grateful he had when the nurses were waiting for them at the front doors with a gurney. He stood dumbly in the middle of the lobby as his brother was wheeled away. It wasn't until Tony came inside after parking the car that he finally decided to call his family and tell them what was happening.

* * *

About an hour later, Loki and Tony were still in the lobby. Loki was shaking, and continuously blamed himself for Baldur's allergic reaction. No amount of Tony's comforting could convince him otherwise, and his boyfriend eventually gave up and hoped someone else would come by soon enough. However, the doctor came out first, calling for Loki, who shot up and nearly knocked over the aging man.

"How is my brother faring?" he asked, his voice shaking. "Were you able to stop whatever was happening to him?"

"Yes, we were, Mr. Odinson," the doctor began. He paused to let Loki collect himself before continuing, "It seems that your brother has a severe allergy to mistletoe. It's not too common, but you never know what someone can or can't be near. We gave him a few shots, and the swelling has gone down greatly, but there are still blotches of red covering his upper body, particularly around his hands. We'll need to keep him overnight, just to make sure he stays in the clear. If you want, you may see him." Loki nodded quickly and followed the doctor (whom he learned was name Yinsen, after Tony thanks him) to one of the many rooms, and nearly cried at the sight of Baldur laying on a hospital bed. He rushed to his side and hugged him close.

"I'm so sorry for what has happened to you," he wept.

Baldur, however, wasn't phased by this, and, being much more vocal and literate than most young children, replied with, "The nurses gave me ice cream."

Loki looked at the bedside table, and, sure enough, there was plenty of empty styrofoam cups with streaks of vanilla painting the sides. He laughed. "Yes, they sure did, Baldur." He let his brother go and instead pet his light brown hair. "Are you alright?"

Baldur shook his head and gave a toothy smile. "I got to spend the day with you," he said cheerfully. "Can we play together again?"

"You... you want to spend more time together?" Loki asked, astonished.

The small child nodded his head, giggling. "I like spending time with my big brother." Baldur stood up on the bed and latched his arms around Loki's neck, pulling him into a hug that his brother hesitated to return. Loki ended up picking up Baldur and holding him, supporting him under his arms and cradling the back of his head.

"I like spending time with you, too," he whispered. Tony chose that moment to enter the room, and paused when he saw the intimate moment between the brothers. Loki motioned for him to join them, so he stood closer, not quite wanting to add on to the hug.

"The little guy doing okay?" Tony asked.

Loki nodded. "He's just fine."

"Great, that's great. Well, I don't want to ruin this sibling moment, but I thought you'd like to know that your parents and Thor and Jane are here."

"What?!"

"Yeah, the nurse just told Yinsen that they're on their way. You've got until..."

"Baldur!"

"Now."

Tony and Loki turned in time to see Loki's family and Jane burst into the room. Thor was still in his uniform, which was covered in dirt and grass stains. Odin was in his suit. Frigga's eye makeup was ruined. Jane mouthed an apology to Loki, who seemed to know why she had.

Baldur saw his family and smiled. "Mommy!"

"Oh, my poor, sweet baby!" Frigga cried. She gathered Baldur from Loki's arms and held him tight. "I'm so glad you're fine!"

"Mommy, I had ice cream!"

"You did now? I hope you thanked the nurses."

As Frigga continued her conversation with her youngest, Thor approached Loki. "What happened to him?"

"He had an allergic reaction to some mistletoe in the yard," Loki explained. "One minute he was fine, the next he was swollen and red. Tony drove us to the hospital. Thank goodness the doctors were able to fix him."

"Thank goodness indeed," Odin cut in. "Do you understand how reckless your behavior was? How catastrophic the results could have been?"

"Father..." Thor began.

"No, Thor, he needs to hear this," Odin boomed. "He almost killed your brother."

Those words stung. _Your brother_. "Baldur is my brother just as much as he is Thor's," Loki defended.

"You have spent days on end detesting your relations to all of our family. You do not suddenly redeem yourself and pretend that you're his brother when you cannot admit to being my kin."

"I'm not your son, by blood nor by treatment. At least I can call Thor and Baldur my brothers, and Frigga my mother. You will never be my father."

"Nor will I ever consider such a let-down to be my son."

Loki gasped, stepping back and covering his mouth with his hands. Tony put his hands on Loki's shoulders, glaring at Odin.

"Odin!" Frigga cried.

"I am close to calling your actions attempted murder," Odin continued, his face stoic as he spoke these harsh words. "And based on your negligence of Baldur, you should know why I say so. I do not want you near your brother after today. If I find that you are alone with him, I will call the police. Do I make myself clear?"

Loki was stunned. Attempted murder? None of them had known of Baldur's allergy! His records were blank under that section. Any of them could have been in Loki's shoes. But, because it was Loki, it was taken a different way. His mother wasn't defending him. Thor had given up. Jane kept her lips shut. Baldur had magically fallen asleep in his mother's arms. Odin clearly was sticking with what he was saying. No one was in Loki's corner to back him up, just like always.

The hands on his shoulders squeezed tighter. Loki turned to see Tony staring grimly at him. Loki wanted to cry; he finally had someone in his corner.

"I believe I'll be staying at Tony's this evening," he told his family, before quickly departing with his boyfriend.

* * *

"Attempted murder! How dare he accuse me of such! Does he think so lowly of me that he would believe I tried to murder a child? And, oh, how lovely it was to see my family defend me! Thor's staring and Frigga's blatant ignorance - ooh, the nerve of those two! They let themselves be walked over because they're spineless cowards! Leaving me to be verbally slaughtered like that. Odin is the true killer! He's trying to destroy me piece by piece, until I crumble and fall apart! I swear..."

Loki had been ranting for nearly an hour. He was silent as he and Tony left the hospital. The soft sound of Pink Floyd album _The Wall_ kept the car ride from becoming too awkward. But once they were inside Tony's apartment and the door was shut, Loki went off.

It started with retelling what happened in the hospital room, with Loki describing what Odin, Frigga, and Thor had done. Then it turned into the possibilities from different outcomes, particularly if Baldur had not made such a successful recovery from the mistletoe incident. After talking about the several ways Odin would have murdered him if Baldur had died, Loki become a blubbering mess. He sobbed for not being a decent brother to both Thor and Baldur. For giving his family hell over everything. At one point, he _almost_ mentioned Sigyn and Nari, a topic he had yet to inform Tony of, but he didn't want to drag Tony into any more of his problems.

Speaking of Tony, he was quiet and attentive throughout Loki's outburst. He never got up once to grab himself a drink. He sat across from Loki on one of the couches, gently stroking his hair or face. He nodded and shook his head when he felt it was appropriate. No opinions were given. There was no rebuttal from the Devil's Advocate.

When Loki was finally done his crying and screaming, he suddenly pounced on Tony, desperate for intimacy. They kissed and grabbed and touched. Loki needed Tony against him. He wanted to feel all of Tony. He wanted them to become one.

Tony stopped when Loki tried to reach down the front of his pants. "You don't want to do that," he said. "I know that you're an emotional wreck, and usually that makes people believe that sex is the answer, but I can't do that to you."

"Please, Tony, please," Loki pleaded as he pressed small kisses to Tony's cheek and jaw. "Don't do this."

"You need to sleep."

"Tony..."

"If we try this tonight, we'll both end up regretting it. Let's just go to bed now, before it gets too messy."

Loki didn't push any harder. He knew Tony was right. The two went into the bedroom and stripped down to their boxers (and undershirt, for Loki) before crawling under the covers. Loki latched on to Tony, his arms around the smaller boy's waist and his head resting by Tony's chest, the steady rhythm of Tony's heartbeat soothing to his ears.

_I wish we could always be like this,_ Loki thought as he drifted off to sleep. _A__lone together, laying like this, and knowing we'll always have each other._


	9. Chapter 8

One week after Baldur's near-death, everything seemed to return to normal. Loki and Odin refused to stand in the same room as the other. Thor was too infatuated with Jane to notice much other than food and sports. Frigga was bending over backwards to keep her family from falling apart. Baldur acted as if nothing was wrong. Jane and Tony were smart enough to stay out of the family's business.

It should have been any other week. But it all went downhill on Saturday.

It began on Wednesday with Loki and Tony's study date. With finals only barely two months away, on top of having teachers who wanted nothing more than to fail their seniors at the last possible second, they had their noses in textbooks for hours. Once in a while, Tony would swear about evil teachers as he skimmed the pages from the desk. Loki was quieter as he wrote notes for his tests while lying atop his bed.

Then Loki dropped a bomb: "We should have sex."

"Uh huh, babe," Tony replied, not processing the words at first, before spluttering, "What?!"

"It's been on my mind for some time now," Loki continued. He was still writing notes, and ignoring Tony's befuddlement. "I understand why you stopped me this past weekend, but that hadn't deterred my thoughts. We've been together long enough where we should have sex."

"How can you be so blunt about it?" Tony nearly shrieked. If any of Loki's family happened to come home and overhear...

"Anthony, I know you've contemplated this longer than I have. What's stopping you now?"

"Well, two things, actually. First off, I've never had sex with another guy before. And second, you shouldn't just throw your virginity out like this!"

Loki's eyebrows knitted together. "What gave you the premise I hadn't lost my virginity?"

Tony nearly lost all self-control. "_You're not a virgin?!_"

"I had sex when I was fourteen. Are you really that shocked?"

"Can you blame me? Before we started dating, you detested bumping shoulders with another person. I can't believe another guy slept with you first!"

Loki shook his head, and corrected, "She was female."

It took a few minutes for Tony to verbally react. He stared for a moment, before standing up from the desk and turning his back to his boyfriend. Loki watched as Tony buried his face in his hands, muttering to himself rapidly. When Tony collected himself, he faced Loki and asked, "Not to be intrusive, can I have a few more details about the situation? Like, for example, who she is."

It was a simple enough request, Loki decided. He might as well give answers to calm Tony's nerves. "Her name is Sigyn," he said. "She came to our school for one year, before moving back to Norway. The first moment I laid eyes on her, I fell for her. We spent every day together, whether it be in person or talking on the phone. The night before she left, she stayed at my house. I kissed her then - the first time we shared one. Somehow, that led to us having sex. Days later, she was gone."

Tony's face softened from Loki's story. "Oh, my god, Lokes, I'm so sorry." He crossed the room and gathered Loki in his arms, holding him tight. Meanwhile, Loki reached around Tony and opened the top drawer of his bedside table. He pulled out a photograph and held it out for both of them to see.

"This is a recent picture that she had sent me," he said.

Tony pulled away to look at her. "She's a beauty," he observed with a low whistle.

"Yes, she is."

They continued to stare at the picture, before Tony asked, "Who's that kid?"

"Hm?"

"The little kid in her arms. Who's that?"

"Nari."

"He looks a lot like you. He's got the same eyes and everything."

"I should hope so. He is my son."

This bomb created more damage than the first one. "You have a son!" Tony exclaimed.

"Shush! I don't need my family to hear you!" Loki snapped. They both knew they would be alone for another hour or so.

"Your family doesn't know? _You have a son_, and your family has no clue whatsoever?!"

"Of course not. It's none of their business."

"You don't think Thor would want to know that he's an uncle? Or Frigga that she's a grandmother?"

"It isn't like not knowing is going to kill them."

Tony was stunned. "You're unbelievable." He started scurrying around the room, grabbing his belongings. "First you want to have sex, then you decide it's a good idea to tell me about your foreign son. Real classy, Loki."

That's when Loki saw his mistake. "Anthony, you have no idea how hard it is on _me_ to not have them near," he insisted. "The morning after our first date, Sigyn told me that she wanted me to move on from her, and specifically on to you. I haven't been in contact with her, or Nari for that matter, since then, because I've focused all of my love and devotion to you, Tony, but you're just too damned - "

"Your love?" Tony interrupted. "You love me?"

Loki's eyes widened. Damn his flustered state. "I didn't mean - "

"No, you did, Lokes. _And_ you called me Tony." Now Tony's eyes were wide. "You really love me."

"Don't put words in my mouth like that!"

"You said it yourself! You love me!"

"Tony..." Green eyes began to fill with tears. "Please..."

"You said it again." Tony stepped closer to Loki, who sat paralyzed on his bed. The picture of Sigyn and Nari fell and slid under the bed.

"I..." Loki's voice was lost when Tony was inches away from him.

"Just... _tell me_, Loki," Tony said quietly. "If you love me, tell me. There's no one else around to hear. It's just you and me."

That's why it scared Loki. It was just the two of them. No one else to save him from this predicament. Tony wasn't going to relent until he had his answer. Loki was seconds from crying, and his strength was wearing thin. This may have not been the first time Loki cried in front of Tony, but those times weren't like this. He wasn't as vulnerable.

"Don't be scared," Tony continued. "I won't stop loving you if you can't say it." He took Loki's hands and gave them a gentle squeeze for support.

Loki shut his eyes, gasping as he felt the warm tears sliding down his cheeks, and opened them to look right into Tony's brown irises. "I love you," he said, his voice shaking, his heart pounded heavily in his chest. This had been the most difficult moment of his life, and although he was petrified, he felt a burden lifting off his shoulders.

Tony pulled Loki into a hug, laughing into the crook of his neck. Loki hesitantly wrapped his arms around Tony, still processing what had happened. He couldn't believe it himself.

"Saturday," Tony said as they pulled away, still holding each other. "After dinner with your family, we can go to my apartment, and we can..."

Loki hugged Tony, planting a huge kiss on the other's cheek.

* * *

As Loki stood outside Odin's office, he recalled walking in there innocent, and leaving a broken boy. The shouting, the fighting, sitting on the floor and watching his world shatter. Now, he was going in with the same intentions as the first time - to find his social security card, for a college application, and not a job - but knowing that something was going to go horribly wrong.

In a matter of three and a half minutes, Loki found a rather thick white binder, with the word **SONS **scribbled on it in black marker. For obvious reasons, Loki believed he would find the right information in here.

When he opened it, the first name he came across was _Tyr Odinson_. Loki was confused. There was another Odinson? He continued reading the name, trying to see if perhaps he was much older than Thor and had been banished from the house. Why else would they have never heard of him?

Loki read that Tyr was almost thirteen years old.

That stumped Loki. How was there an Odinson that was younger than him? Unless...

No. That couldn't be. Odin would never cheat on Frigga. He was a heartless bastard, naturally, but to go behind Frigga and conceive a son with another woman? How cruel could the man be? Loki continued flipping through the binder to see what else he had missed. There were many more sons.

Váli Odinson, who was now ten. He was born from a Russian woman named Rinda, who happened to have sued Odin for rape before he paid her money under the table to keep quiet.

Vidar Odinson, who was twenty-one. He was born to a woman named Grider, and paid _her_ money to keep another secret.

Bragi Odinson, who was twenty-three. His mother isn't mentioned, but the name of the orphanage he used to live in was. He was married to a woman named Idunn.

Skjolder Odinson, who was nineteen. He was supposedly considered a part of royalty in Denmark.

Hermoder Odinson, who was twenty-two. His whereabouts after receiving money from Odin were unknown.

Loki _Laufeyjarson_ (a blatant reminder he wasn't a son of Odin, and a reminder of the name he was told he wasn't allowed to use), the seventeen-year-old staring at the secret pages of the binder. Son of Laufey and Farbauti. Brother of Byliester and Helblindi. The unwanted child of Odin Borrson.

Baldur Odinson. The golden child with an extreme allergy to mistletoe.

Thor Odinson. The first golden child. Son of Odin and...

Loki gasped and shut the binder. It seemed like Loki wasn't the only child in the house who had a secret past.

* * *

The weekly Odinson Family Dinner was hard for Loki to sit through. Naturally, he grew weary of his family and wished to disappear ten minutes into every family meal; however, with the guilt of discovering Odin's many secrets by pure accident was going to kill him. How could he look at Odin the same? Or Frigga? Hell, he wasn't able to look _Thor_ in the eye. Jane sensed Loki's odd disposition and kept eye contact with her plate. Tony either didn't notice or was too worried about tonight to pay attention. To keep himself occupied, Loki helped feed Baldur mashed potatoes.

"You okay, babe?" Tony asked his boyfriend quietly, as Thor raved about a home run he made this week. "You're really tense."

"Just nervous," Loki replied. Baldur tried to feed his brother with a spoon of his own dinner, before Loki moved out of reach.

"Me too," Tony said. He reached under the table and took Loki's hand in his. Loki smiled; he didn't want Tony to know why he was nervous.

Frigga suddenly stood up, smiling as she had everyone's undivided attention. "I believe now is a good time to share some wonderful news. Don't you, Odin?"

Odin stood. "I believe so."

Frigga looked to each person first, before asking, "Thor, Loki, Baldur - how would you guys like to have another brother?"

Thor dropped his fork (a rare accomplishment, Loki noted) and cried, "You're expecting a son?"

"Congratulations!" Jane exclaimed.

"I'm gonna have a baby brother?" Baldur asked.

It seemed that everyone was excited for Frigga and Odin. Thor hugged his parents. Jane followed him, and picked up Baldur so he could touch Frigga's slightly-larger stomach (how hadn't they noticed before? Frigga was very thin. Surely a baby bump would be obvious on her). Tony shook Odin's hand, and had Frigga admit that she had been pregnant for the past four months. Odin hugged and kissed his wife.

Everyone but Loki was excited for Frigga and Odin. Because Loki couldn't believe it.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Frigga asked her son. "Aren't you happy?"

"Congratulate your mother," Odin ordered.

Something in Loki snapped. His self-control ceased momentarily - long enough for him to blurt, "Perhaps I should congratulate you, Odin, for whoring yourself out enough to create an empire of sons." Everyone went quiet at Loki's words. All of them seemed confused, except for Odin, who glared angrily.

"Don't disrespect me," he said.

"Oh, how dare I insult the great and powerful Odin," Loki raved. "How dare I hurt the name I don't bear. To put your thoughts at ease, I only meant to hurt one Odinson, not all of them."

"All of them? Father, what is Loki speaking of?" Thor asked.

"Yes, Odin, tell Thor what I'm speaking of."

"Odin..." Frigga said slowly.

"You don't get to say a word on the matter, Mother," Loki interrupted. "You may act the fool, but you're just as in-the-know as Odin."

"Loki, stop skirting around this and knock off the act," Thor warned. He turned to Jane and said, "Take Tony and Baldur into the other room until this ends. None of you need to bear witness. This may get messy." Jane nodded and carried Baldur upstairs, muttering about putting the toddler to bed, with Tony on her tail, offering his assistance.

"Thor, there is much hidden about the Odinson family than either of us have known," Loki began. "It's much bigger than expected."

"Have you been snooping in my office again?" Odin barked. "Do you not obey anything I tell you? There is a reason I say these things."

"Why? So you can hide your sons from us?" Loki sneered. "The cat is out of the bag, Odin; I know about _all six_ of them now."

"All six?" Frigga asked.

"Sons?" Thor asked. "Father, tell me he's speaking lies."

At Odin's hesitance, Loki took a leap forward. "Why don't you tell Thor about his mother."

All three of his non-family members paled. Odin cleared his throat and said, "Thor, I won't try to delve into details, so I will keep it simple. Around the time I married Frigga, I had recently been with another woman, who was pregnant and not wanting a son. Your mother and I did, so I paid her to say you weren't hers after your birth. That doesn't change your title as an Odinson, or becoming heir to the company."

"Sweetie, I'm so sorry this is how you had to learn," Frigga said, almost sobbing now. "You are still my son, as much as Loki and Baldur."

"But the others aren't?" Loki spat. He was on a roll; he needed the ecstasy of putting his family through the hell of knowing, and that meant all of them, not just Thor. Odin's hell was watching his secrets unravel. Frigga needed to know. "Hermoder? Bragi? Vidar? Skjolder? Váli? Tyr?"

"Who are these men you speak of?" Thor demanded.

"Why, they are the other sons of Odin. Didn't you know? You have many more brothers. In fact, _you_ have seven. Did you know about your birth mother's son Meili? Does Odin?"

"Why is that number higher than I recall?" Frigga asked Odin, her voice low and dangerous.

Loki grinned evilly. Oh, how he revelled in no longer being the only screwed up family member.


	10. Chapter 9

As Odin, Frigga, and Thor spent the rest of the evening shouting at one another, Jane, Tony, and Loki took the opportunity to leave. Because Thor was the one to drive her over, Jane was taken home by Tony, while Loki sat quietly and patiently in the passenger seat, thinking about his past actions.

"So," Loki said once Tony made his way to the apartment, "I take it that this evening's plans will be postponed."

"Loki, what the fuck did you say?" Tony asked. "We had to sing to Baldur so he wouldn't hear you guys, and I hate singing."

Loki raked his fingers through his own hair, wrinkling his nose as he noticed how unruly and curly the humidity made it. "I found out that Odin has six other sons that he's kept under wraps for years yesterday afternoon, and after finding out he was fathering another, I just... it was like he was trying to build an empire of sons. I didn't mean to bring it up like I had, but I couldn't control myself. Once I opened my mouth, I was unstoppable."

Tony sighed. "I'm not going to blame you; I would do the same to Howard if I had dirt on him like that. But I'm not going to say your actions were justified."

"Not even close."

"And don't think that we're doing it tonight."

"I suspected that much."

"By the way, should I be ready to make space in my apartment?"

"What for?"

"Do you put it beyond your family to kick you out after that whole fiasco?"

"Well, now we can make use of your unused bedroom. Make sure to keep the furniture there."

"You don't think your parents will let you keep yours?"

"If they don't give it to me, they'll burn it."

The rest of the car ride was filled by their silence. Tony could easily keep himself distracted by focusing on the road, but Loki had to stare out the passenger window and amuse himself with the passing homes and people. It wasn't enough. He couldn't help but think about how off-guard Odin had been. The anger that was ablaze in Frigga's eyes. The heartbroken look on Thor's face. Eventually, Baldur would want to know why his family was acting strange - well, stranger than usual. And would Loki be welcomed back home? It was obvious that Odin wouldn't want him back. But would Frigga? Thor?

Loki sighed as Tony pulled into the parking lot. He would find out soon enough.

* * *

In the morning, after waking in Tony's guest room (they both agreed it'd be best for Loki to sleep in there), Loki found his belongings in the living room, with Thor and Tony dropping the last few boxes on the floor.

"It was this or your dad throwing everything out the window," Tony explained as he stretched his arms.

Loki nodded and smiled weakly. "Thank you, Anthony," he said. He turned to Thor, whom worse a pained expression. "Brother?"

"I do not know how to feel towards this... situation," Thor began. "I can't find it in me to hate you."

"I wouldn't blame you if you do."

"Mother said she was aware that Father had many sons, but hadn't known about the ones born between you and Baldur. Father is staying at a hotel room until it's decided what will happen between them. Baldur only knows that you and Father won't be home for a while."

"And how long before I will be welcomed back?"

"Don't expect it to happen soon. Be glad Tony is offering his home to you." Thor promptly left, without bidding farewell or showing Loki any care or affection. Loki's hand clutches the fabric over his chest, his breathing growing heavy and jagged. His outburst was meant to only hurt Odin, and maybe Frigga. Yes, Loki was victimized by their lies, but now his brother was thrown in the mix.

Tony quickly pulled Loki into a hug, with one arm around his shoulders, and the other rubbing Loki's back. "It'll be okay, Lokes," he said, unconvincing. "Everything will work out in the end."

_I'm glad you think so_, Loki thought, _because I lack your faith_.

* * *

Later that night, Loki found himself standing in Tony's shower, contemplating the past few months. It wasn't his family on his mind, though. He was focused on his _relationship_. As he lathered himself in soap, he made a mental timeline of how he ended up here:

Pepper Potts broke up with Tony, while Loki had been single since freshman year;

Jane Foster set Loki up on a blind double-date (in which he was the only one who was left in the dark, although he easily figured out who his date was);

Loki told Tony he wasn't interested, which made Tony want him more;

Sigyn told Loki that not only had she moved on, but suggested that he do the same;

Tony outsmarted Loki and held his book hostage until he was promised a second date;

Loki went on said date, after spending hours prepping himself;

They spent that night in Tony's apartment getting _much _closer;

Loki ran away without explaining why to Tony;

They finally talked and confessed most of their secrets to each other;

Loki said that's why their relationship was going to work;

Clint and Natasha's wedding, where Tony was first to say, "I love you";

Loki was forced to babysit Baldur and requested that Tony help him;

Baldur had an allergic reaction to mistletoe in the yard;

After taking Baldur to the hospital and being assured he was alright, Loki was called a murderer by Odin;

Loki cried to Tony, before trying (and failing) to have his way with him;

Loki tried again, and was promised they would have sex last night;

Loki discovered all the sons of Odin on accident;

Loki revealed his newfound knowledge to his family;

After being offered, Loki had no choice but to move in with Tony;

Thor and Tony brought over Loki's belongings, as a sign of unwelcome from the Odinson family;

And now, Loki was in Tony's shower, trying to get from Point A to Point B. Instead of putting too much thought into it for now, he rinsed himself off and stopped the running water. He was getting a headache from this past weekend.

After toweling off and slipping into a pair of sweatpants, Loki padded into the living room, where Tony was nursing a glass of scotch on the loveseat. Loki sat beside him before deciding to curl up against his side, one arm lazily thrown over Tony's stomach. Soon, Tony's arm wrapped around Loki's shoulders and hugged him closer.

"I don't want you to feel like you're invading my house," Tony said once his glass was empty. "We both know you have nowhere else to be, and I can't let you live on the streets. Not just because you're my friend, but because you're my boyfriend, too." With a snort, he added, "And because we both know I'm rich enough to support everyone I know for the rest of their lives."

Loki sighed, cuddling Tony a bit more. "I know, Anthony," he said quietly.

Another minute or two of silence passed on, before Tony asked, "How many people from our school do you think know about this already?"

"What, that I basically destroyed the Odinson name?"

"No, that we're living together."

The taller boy sighed again. "We should have an interesting school day coming up."

"You mean hell."

"Take it as you wish."


	11. Chapter 10

Clint was the one who warned Tony and Loki about the rumors being spread of them living together. The original source was unsurprisingly Fandral, who went to the Odinsons to hang out with Thor – something Thor and his friends did every Sunday – and was told of the family's woes. He quickly fired off texts to the gossipers at SHIELD High, and within hours everyone was obsessed with Loki moving into Tony's apartment. Clint said he and their friends would offer to protect them from the onslaught of teenagers who would beg them for intimate details about the arrangement, but the boys told him it wouldn't be necessary.

"I don't know who will attempt to kill me first," Loki said absently as he washed his face in the bathroom sink.

Tony squirted a dollop of toothpaste on his toothbrush as he asked, "What do you mean?"

"It's a battle between who will kill me first: Pepper Potts or Amora."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "I know why Pepper might, but why Amora?"

"Because I hadn't told her before Fandral did."

"Ah." Tony began brushing his teeth as Loki rinsed off and towel-dried his face.

"Barely more than a month of school left, yet people rely heavily on the grapevine to feel better about themselves or wish they could be someone else," Loki said. Tony hummed in agreement and spit into the sink. Loki continued, "It's pathetic, really, how engrossed they are in you. They might as well be the damn paparazzi."

Tony hugged Loki from behind, his nose pressed to the other's neck, and arms wound around his waist. "They're just jealous that they don't have someone as perfect as you."

"And what about you, Mr. Stark? It seems you're quite the catch around here."

"That may be true, but I've already been caught by this really sexy guy."

Loki turned to face Tony, draping his long arms over the shorter boy's shoulders. "Should I be worried?"

Tony pretended to think about his answer. "I wouldn't be too concerned," he said. "Unless you're jealous that I'm inviting him to stay in my bed tonight."

"And if he doesn't accept your invitation?"

"Hmm, I suppose you could stay instead. That is, if you're interested."

Loki smirked. "I'm _very_ interested."

* * *

The next morning, Amora had found Loki before he stepped out of Tony's car. As he'd suspected, she wasn't pleased.

"Are we no longer best friends, Loki?" she snapped. "How come I had to wait until _Fandral_ texted me to learn that you're living with _Tony Stark_?"

Loki shot Tony a look to say that he was right, before answering, "First, we're not friends, just acquaintances. Second, you know Tony would have told you during lunch if Fandral hadn't learned about it."

Amora's anger lasted another five seconds, before she squealed and jumped into Loki's arms. "I can't believe my best friend is living with Tony Stark!"

Loki sighed. "Could you scream that a little louder? I don't think the entire campus heard you."

He was ignored as Amora moved on to Tony, nearly draping herself over him. "Tell me, Tony," she cooed, "what's it like to live with this gorgeous prick?"

Tony grinned, answering, "Well, let's just say we have _lots_ of fun."

"Stop fueling the fire," Loki scolded. "We've only been living under the same roof for a day. There's no need to throw a parade just yet."

"Oh, really?" Amora asked. She let go of Tony, who seemed more than pleased to stand beside his boyfriend again. "Rumor has it Pepper Potts is on the hunt for you, Loki. Apparently she has a few words for you."

"Does she now? What have I done to deserve such a prestigious honor?"

"Moved in with her ex, I guess." The bell rang, and Amora shrugged. "See you later – if you're alive." With a smile and a wave, she flounced off to Skurge's side before entering the building. Tony and Loki walked in as well, both noticing the many eyes on them.

"You'd think they'd having something better to do than stare at us," Tony muttered.

"And yet, they don't," Loki replied. "This is one of the many reasons why I hate our class."

"There's only a month left, if that helps."

"It doesn't. A month is entirely too long when your trapped in a building with imbeciles."

"Not everyone is an imbecile. I can think of a few people who aren't."

"Hmm, you're right. I wouldn't dare call Romanoff one. And Banner is quite the scholar himself."

Tony pouted. "That's mean."

"It's childish actions like that which make me call you an imbecile. And sticking out your tongue in retaliation is unbecoming as well."

"I thought you liked my tongue plenty."

Tony kept his mouth shut and continued pouting after Loki smacked him upside the head.

* * *

"Why are you sitting here?"

Loki and Tony looked away from each other to see Natasha sitting across from them, arms crossed and face neutral. Bruce, Clint, Steve, and Rhodey were also present and had been debating over who would win in an arm wrestling match between Steve and Clint, but went silent at Natasha's question.

"Does my presence here bother you?" Loki asked.

"Not particularly," Natasha replied. "But considering how you flinch around me because you're scared I might hurt you–"

"Hospitalize is a better term."

"–it makes me wonder why you would sit here. And since you haven't done so in the past few months that you and Tony have been together, why start now?"

Loki thought about lying, but instead admitted, "I don't know when Virginia Potts will come for me, and if she does, I would like to utilize your assassin-like qualities. I have no intentions of dying today."

"In other words, he's scared of Pepper," Tony said, earning him a pinch on the thigh.

Rhodey snorted. "I would be too if your ex was after me. She looks harmless, but she used to keep Tony in line with one look."

Clint snatched Bruce's pen and notebook. "Want me to write your eulogy?"

"You can write that I plan to haunt Clinton Francis Barton for the rest of his life," Loki said with a glare.

Natasha sighed at the boys. "If you really want to know, Pepper doesn't plan on killing you. She's going to find you after the last period and take you out to a late lunch. She says she has a few things you may want to know."

"And how do you know this?"

"Simple: I asked her."

"You talked to Pepper?" Tony asked. "Nat, that goes against the bro code!"

Natasha narrowed her eyes. "I'm not a boy, Tony."

"You sure as hell act more like one than everyone here… well, maybe not Steve."

Everyone ignored Tony. "Do you know what exactly she wants to tell me?" Loki asked.

Natasha nodded. "But it's not my business nor my place to tell you. I do know that it may impact some of your decisions."

The bell rang, and the boys rushed to grab their things and head to next period. Tony went to help Loki, but was motioned to leave without him. Loki caught the look in Natasha's eyes and wanted confirmation.

"You mean that I may leave Anthony because of what she'll tell me?" he asked once the boys had left.

"I don't believe it will," Natasha replied, "and I don't think you should. It's more of something you need to watch out for. I'm saying this as Tony's friend, Pepper's friend, and, in a sense, your friend as well."

Loki wrinkled his nose at the term. "I don't have friends," he said.

"You tell yourself this, but you know it's true," Natasha countered. "Amora and Skurge are your friends like Clint and I are Tony's friends. I know it's hard for you to admit because the only 'friends' you've ever had were Thor's friends, and who are they? Two people who ignore you, one person who hates you, and a fourth who makes failed passes at you? Or was it someone else who made you hate calling people friends, Loki?"

"There's one thing that I equally admire and despise about you, Miss Romanoff," Loki said as they both gathered their belongings. "You can read people so easily."

Natasha shrugged. "Just meet Pepper at parking space one-thirty-seven after school and take what she says seriously." As she walked out of the cafeteria, she called over her shoulders, "The name is Barton now."

* * *

Sure enough, Pepper Potts was sitting on the hood of a white sedan in parking spot one-thirty-seven, waiting for Loki's arrival. The only words exchanged was that Pepper must've gotten the habit from Tony, before they climbed into the front seat and drove off. Pepper took them to a diner on the outskirts of town, where they sat in a booth, now waiting for their orders of salads and sipping from glasses of water.

"It seems we have similar tastes," Loki commented.

Pepper nodded. "Natasha told you to meet with me, right?"

"Yes. She also said that what you're about to tell me will be related to my relationship with Tony."

Another nod. "It's about the real reason Tony and I broke up," she said. "I don't know if Tony told you, but whatever he said was probably to regain his pride."

"He told me you two were too perfect together, and it was bound to go south," Loki said. "Something tells me that it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, was it?"

Pepper tried to hold back a smile, her lips quivering at the attempt. "We started out like that," she confessed. "For the first year, it was all wonderful. I honestly thought he was the one."

Loki noticed the twinkle in her eye. The twinkle his mother claimed he had when Tony first said he loved him. That's how it was, to find true love with another.

"But he wasn't," he said.

The twinkle vanished. Pepper let out a depressed sigh. "I'd rather not beat around the bush too much, but I'd rather not be blunt and heartless either. Have you noticed how much Tony drinks?" When Loki didn't say anything, she said, "It took me a while to catch on to his alcohol dependency. When I did, my first reaction was to stop him. But he just wouldn't hear it. He denied it, which only made things worse."

"And that's why you left him," Loki concluded.

"I tried to get him help," Pepper added quickly. "He wouldn't accept it. Accepting help was admitting defeat, I guess. Tony doesn't admit defeat." She paused long enough for the waitress to give them their meals and walk away. "I don't want you to find out when it's too late. The sooner you learn, the better you can assess the situation. Maybe you won't be a complete mess like me."

"I see," Loki muttered. Now that Pepper mentioned it, Tony did drink more than he should – not even as a minor, but for anyone at any age. A glass of wine or scotch was poured every time he'd been invited over.

"I swear I'm not trying to break you up," Pepper said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"I hadn't assumed so," Loki replied, "but I don't know why you're telling me this, considering your previous actions towards me."

Pepper stared at him blankly. "Something told me that I could trust you with this. I was going to have Natasha stage an intervention, but I think she's a better last-resort, you know, if things become too out of control."

"She is a frightening woman."

They quietly ate their salads, looking around the diner and not each other, before Pepper said, "You know, you're not as bad as I thought."

Loki hesitated, before saying, "Thank you. And you aren't as terrifying as the others claim you are."

Pepper laughed. "I can be when I want to."

Loki forced himself to laugh. He didn't need to fear being on Pepper's bad side.


	12. Chapter 11

As the school's annual Junior-Senior merit assembly commenced, Loki sat on the bleachers, among the top of his class, all seated in front of the other seniors who hadn't made the marks to be recognized as magna, summa, or just plain cum laude. Thor and all his friends (Sif included, which brought Loki great joy, knowing he was much smarter than she was) were among those.

The cum laude walked in from the halls, Clint and Natasha included. They stood side by side, their pinkies linked together despite wearing no expression, before sitting in the foldable chairs in the middle of the gymnasium floor. Pepper, who sat beside them now that she and Loki were more amicable, and because she and Tony were on better terms, cooed at the couple.

Magna cum laude was next. Rhodey was in the mix, which led Tony to whoop and cheer obnoxiously, until Loki pulled his boyfriend back down with a bright red face.

Summa cum laude was last. They were to call up the top five students last, while others such as Pepper and Steve were called up to sit with the cum laude and magna cum laude student. That left five students in the bleachers yet to hear their name, including Loki, Tony, Jane (who was sitting with Darcy Lewis and Thor), and Bruce.

"I was totally rooting for Bruce to be valedictorian," Tony said, smirking.

Bruce rolled his eyes. "As endearing as I'm sure you think you sound," he said, "it's almost insulting."

"If it helps your pride, I believe you're smarter than Anthony," Loki offered.

"Thanks, Loki."

Principal Fury cleared his throat. "Now for the top five of the class. At five, we have Henry Pym." Hank stood and walked to the two teachers, who handed him his honors sash and a certificate.

"At four, we have Jane Foster."

Tony reached and took both Bruce and Loki's hands. "This is so nerve-wracking," he said.

"How?" Loki asked as he freed his hand. "You know the order of the ranks, idiot."

"At three, we have Robert Banner."

Bruce blushed at his first name, but rose and went to accept his awards as the students clapped for him.

Loki's nose wrinkled at the valedictorian and salutatorian sashes. "Those are such a gaudy addition," he said.

Tony poked his nose. "You look so cute like that," he said.

"You say that about _everything_ I do."

"Then everything you do it cute. Sue me for thinking so."

"And presenting this year's salutatorian, give a round of applause to Loki Odinson!" Fury announced. From behind, Thor was shouting his name over the applause. Loki quickly hid a scowl as he stood and made his way to the center of the room. He let the sash be thrown carelessly over him, and was told he'd receive everything else after he posed for pictures with the newspaper.

Loki suddenly felt claustrophobic. He didn't like this. The thousands of eyes on him, all whispering to each other, judging him. He always thought people who whispered while looking at him were judging him. He wanted to run. He needed to get away from this toxic environment, find himself a quiet place where they couldn't find him–

A shoulder nudged against his upper arm. Loki looked to see Tony, donning his valedictorian sash, smiling up at him.

"Don't worry," he said. "Five more minutes before they usher everyone out and we do our photoshoot in the cafeteria."

Loki nodded and took a deep breath. He would get through this. He would get through everything.

* * *

"You know, I think it's homophobic that they wouldn't let us take a picture of us even _touching each other_," Tony ranted that evening.

"Mmhm," Loki hummed as he worked on his salutatorian speech at the kitchen table.

"I mean, other schools would let their top two get pictures together without the principals there, but they wouldn't even let us do that! What did they think, we would fuck for the camera?"

"How dare they." Loki was only half-listening, something he did whenever Tony went off on something he found miniscule compared to the Broadway production his boyfriend put on.

"As hot as that would be, they're all aware that we're a couple and wanted to look good for the press. I mean, come on, we live in Massachusetts! Who the hell in Massachusetts would give a shit?"

"It's a wonder."

Tony pulled Loki's notebook from under his pen. "Are you even listening to what I'm saying?"

"Yes, dear, I am. But what do you expect? They don't want to look bad and start some riot with the school board, so they're keeping it low-key." Loki snatched back his notebook. "Now write your speech. If you put it off until the last minute, you'll regret looking like an idiot in front of the entire city."

A gleam of mischief was in Tony's eye. "Lokes, did I ever tell you that you're a genius?" he asked, smiling deviously.

"I am salutatorian, am I not?" was Loki's reply. He smiled when he received a kiss on the cheek, but didn't think twice when Tony ran off and began his speech. Later on, he was angrier at himself for not stopping Tony.

* * *

The graduation itself happened on a Thursday evening, in the football stadium, with at least three thousand spectators who were friends, family, staff, or worked for the newspapers. The school film team had three cameras set to capture every moment, from the walk to the throwing of the caps. Loki gritted his teeth and kept his mouth shut as he sat in the front of the bleachers, next to Bruce, as he waited to deliver his speech. Tony was on the other side of the row, sitting next to Steve and Pepper, the class president and vice-president.

"Are you excited?" Bruce asked seconds before.

"Not particularly," Loki replied. When his name was called, he said, "Let's get this over with."

His speech was nothing to sneeze at. It was filled with what everyone wanted to hear. Carry these memories forever. These are the greatest days of your lives. The friendships will last forever – he wanted to vomit at his own writing.

Loki was supposed to sit down as Tony did his speech. He found himself being whisked back to the podium by his boyfriend, his hand held tightly, as Tony delivered his half-assed speech to the stunned stadium.

"…and on a final note, I've learned something from this school that I couldn't learn anywhere else," he was concluding, something in his tone worrying Loki. "No matter how you love or how you express it, there will always be someone trying to shut you down. No pictures taken, no PDA, nada. And so, without further explanation, this is my departing statement to SHIELD."

And, in front of those three thousand and some people, Tony kissed Loki, making the headline of every newspaper in the city, five neighboring counties, and most gossip magazines.

* * *

"At least we can say that your graduation will go down in history."

"It sure will in the tabloids, thanks to your recklessness."

"Well, it surely was a sight."

"Loki kissed a boy!"

Loki buried his face in his hands, trying to slide under the table and hopefully from the rest of existence. Thor rolled his eyes and pulled Loki back up.

Of course, his parents witnessed first-hand Tony kissing Loki. So had Odin and Frigga's families, all of whom left quickly after congratulating their nephews/grandsons. Half of them couldn't look Loki in the eye. He was beyond humiliated, but he wasn't going to let Tony get bashed by his family for doing so.

"He was upset about the staff trying to keep us separated in pictures and practices because we're a couple, and that was him proving a point," Loki explained. "I wasn't fully aware of the situation until it happened, so please, can we drop it."

"Loki, I don't mind that you're going through a phase–" Odin had started calling Loki's bisexuality a phase when Loki was a sophomore, and now and then brought the term back to light, as if he was always trying to find ways to piss him off, "–but that's no excuse to publically display your relationship on such an important day."

"Important for me, or important for Thor?"

"_Boys_," Frigga hissed through clenched teeth, "we are in a nice restaurant, trying to have a nice meal, and this doesn't need to be brought up outside of the privacy of our home." Odin snorted. Frigga's nostrils flared. "Is something funny?"

"You should tell the boys why we really brought them out," Odin said, giving Frigga a Look. Both Thor and Loki looked between the two.

"What's going on?" Thor asked.

Frigga placed her fork down and sighed. "Your father and I have decided to get a divorce–"

"You can't be serious!"

"Thor, don't interrupt me. Anyway, we've already sold the house to a nice couple from out west. We're moving out by the end of June. I'll be moving to a condo in the north part of town, while your father has a new home closer to his business. The two of you must decide whose home you'll be staying at more often, so we have an idea where to move your belongings. It's been agreed upon that Baldur will be staying with me until he's old enough to switch between homes." Frigga turned to her eldest. "Thor?"

The blond thought about it as he chewed his steak. He swallowed and said, "Since Father plans on making me his successor and employing me, it's better for me to stay with him more often."

"That's fair." Frigga turned to her middle child. "Loki?"

He didn't even have to think about it. "I'm staying with Anthony," he declared.

"Over my dead body," Odin growled.

"Don't," Frigga warned. To Loki, she said, "Are you sure about this sweetie? I don't want you to be a burden on Tony."

Loki nodded. "If you must, take my furniture to your condo, so you'll have it for Thor or Baldur. I'm perfectly happy living with Anthony." Just then, his phone buzzed. Quickly reading the text, he tossed the napkin on his lap on his plate. "My ride is here."

"Please, don't leave yet," Frigga pleaded.

"Stay, Loki!" Baldur cried.

"Sorry, but I no longer feel welcome here. Not like I have been since I sat down, anyway," Loki said. "I may or may not see you tonight, Thor."

"More likely than not, Jane and I will be making an appearance," Thor said.

Loki nodded, before exiting the restaurant and entering Tony's car. Tony leaned over for a kiss, but instead found himself with a mouthful of hair. He quickly spat it out. "What was that for?" he whined.

"For my family humiliating me for your little stunt," Loki answered. "You're not allowed to kiss me again until I'm certain you're sorry for your actions."

"And if I'm not?"

"Then no more kisses."

"What? No, Loki, then I'm so sorry for what I did! I'll get on my knees and kiss your feet if I have to!"

Loki smirked. "Tempting, but I'm not buying it just yet."

* * *

Tony, being a Stark, threw a large graduation party, for all his friends and friends of friends. People who he didn't even know showed up, allowed access by bringing cases of beer. Loki wasn't fond of the crowd of imbeciles overflowing the apartment, but for one last time, he was willing to let it slide. After all, the chances of him running into three-fourths of his classmates ever again were slim.

So he let himself enjoy the night. He drank with Clint and Natasha. He danced with Darcy and Amora, and even Thor once he arrived. He gave Tony light gropes as he passed by (still no kisses). Strangers said they wished they were like him – for dating Tony Stark _and_ for having such a caring boyfriend. Amora pestered Loki about his non-existent sex life until Skurge dragged her away to live their own sex lives.

Around two am, most of the guests were gone. Only Tony's close friends remained. Thor and Jane had retired hours ago. Darcy left with a random guy (unsurprisingly, Loki thought to himself). Clint, Natasha, Rhodey, Steve, Bruce, and Happy were helping Loki clean up the mess left behind.

"This is why I despise hosting parties," Loki complained. "The aftermath is atrocious."

"Well, Tony usually hires, like, four maids to deal with this the next day," Clint said. "But now he can dress you up in a Playboy maid costume and let you parade around with a feather duster." Natasha smacked him upside the head before Loki did it himself.

Pepper reappeared in the room. Loki didn't know she was still around. "He finally stopped throwing up," she announced.

"How bad was he this time?" Rhodey asked.

"Trust me, you don't want to know," Pepper said, waving it off. She approached Loki, arms crossed under her chest. "I hope you know what to do when he gets like this and we're not around to help."

"It isn't too difficult, dealing with drunk men," Loki said.

"Well, you haven't dealt with a drunk Tony." Pepper glanced around the apartment. "It looks good enough in here. We should leave now." Everyone said goodbye and went home. Loki did one last inspection of the apartment, deemed it decent enough to leave alone until morning, and went to Tony's bedroom, where he was splayed across the mattress, wearing only boxers (whether that was Pepper's doing or his own was up in the air). Loki stripped to his briefs and lied down on his back under the sheets, accidentally waking Tony.

"Mmm, hey, gorgeous," he mumbled.

Loki decided to play along. "Hey yourself," he whispered. "You should go back to sleep."

"Nn-don' wanna." Tony rolled over, half of his body on top of Loki's. "I wan' show you a good time."

"Not now, Anthony. You're terribly drunk."

"That don' matter, baby." Tony began kissing Loki's shoulder. "Lemme have you."

"_No_, Anthony. I want to go to sleep."

"_No_, 'Ki," Tony urged. "Lemme…" One of Tony's hands grabbed Loki's crotch over the sheets. Loki quickly moved it away, then shoved Tony back over.

"I'll sleep in my bed tonight," he said.

"No, Loki, I di'n mean to–"

"Goodnight, Anthony." Loki shut Tony's door, just in case, and his own door too. As he lied down on his bed – which he hadn't used in nearly a month – he thought about everything Pepper had said about Tony's drinking. Would he grab her crotch? Did he try to coerce her into drunken sex? Did she let him or go into the other room?

He rolled over and sighed. Drunk Tony was definitely difficult.


	13. Chapter 12

The next afternoon, to emphasize how upset he was with Tony, Loki made sure he had the blender on as high as it'd go as he made himself a smoothie. He smiled bitterly when he heard cursing and a groan in response.

"Not funny," Tony grunted as he padded into the kitchen, one hand over his eyes. He at least put on jeans, but was his comforter wrapped around his shoulders.

"It wasn't meant to be," Loki replied coolly. "Want lunch?"

"Is it a giant bacon sandwich?"

"No."

"Fine, then I'll order one for delivery."

"Anthony, it's two in the afternoon on a Friday. Where the hell are you going to order one from?"

"When your name is Tony Stark, you can order a bacon sandwich from Olive Garden." He pulled his cellphone from his pocket and started dialing before Loki snatched it from his hand.

"Not when your name is Anthony Stark and you're in trouble for last night," he said.

"Lokes, I don't even remember what I did last night."

"Really?" Loki put Tony's phone on the counter, in case he was tempted to smash it against the wall. "How much did you drink?"

"Too many to count," Tony answered. "And don't give me that pissy look. I don't know what the hell I did to deserve it."

"Seriously? You don't remember doing _this?!_" Loki seized Tony's hand and placed it between his legs. Tony screeched and pulled it back.

"What the hell!"

"You wanted to know what you had done. That's what you did, despite how many times I told you no." Loki turned his back to Tony and crossed his arms, unsure of how else to react. He heard the comforter drop to the floor and Tony mutter, "Fuck." Then two hands snaked under his arms and reached up to grab his shoulders. Tony leaned against Loki's back, kissing the nape of his neck gently.

"I'm sorry, Loki," he said against his skin. "I didn't mean to upset you. I know you had a shitty day yesterday, and that I was partially–"

"_Partially_?"

"…alright, I was one hundred percent responsible for why. I just – I'm sorry, Lokes. I really am." The arms squeezed Loki tighter. "Please forgive me?"

Loki thought about it. Did Tony deserve forgiveness? What good would come out of them fighting anyway? He moved Tony's hands off his shoulders and turned around. He took Tony's head in his own hands and placed a kiss on his boyfriend's forehead. Tony was forgiven.

Just for kicks, Loki moved down to Tony's ear and whispered, "Next time, make sure you're sober when you start groping me."

He made it to his bedroom when Tony shouted, "Does this mean I can give you handjobs now?"

* * *

By mid-July, nothing else dramatic had happened. Tony was taking online classes to prepare for MIT come September. Loki was still stuck on what college he wanted to attend, and had yet to say yes to any, despite the reminder that soon they wouldn't accept him at all. Tony's friends came by now and then. Loki was roped into planning Thor's nineteenth birthday celebration by Darcy Lewis, and quickly passed his tasks on to Amora, who was more than thrilled to take part in the process.

But all good things come to an end, Loki was reminded, when one morning, he woke up in Tony's bed and rolled over to see Sigyn sitting on the end.

"Good morning, my love," she said softly, smiling sweetly.

"Sigyn…" Loki sat up. He quickly reached out and touched her arm, making sure she was really there. She was. "It's been so long," he said.

"It has been. I've missed you greatly."

"And I you." Loki then realized he was wearing nothing but gym shorts. "I should change into something more appropriate."

Sigyn waved him off. "Nothing I haven't seen before, Loki," she said. "I'll just turn my back to you." She did so. Loki accepted this and rolled off the other side of Tony's bed, rummaging through his boyfriend's drawers to find clothes. He put on one of Tony's band shirts, and found a pair of his own jeans on the floor.

"How did you find me?" he asked.

"Your brother, actually," Sigyn answered. "I still had his phone number and called him. He said you had moved in with a friend." She looked over her shoulder, not caring that Loki was still dressing. "Is he the self-obsessed son of a billionaire Thor's girlfriend set you up with? The one you complained about over the phone?"

Loki blushed heavily. "After the second date, let's just say my opinion about him has changed. He is still a self-obsessed son of a billionaire, but he's also… much more."

Sigyn nodded. "I feel the same about Theoric."

"What did you come here for? Not to be rude, but it's a rather sudden appearance." Also, Loki didn't want to talk about the man Sigyn left him for. He may have moved on from her in these past months, but it still hurt him to think that she had done so.

He didn't miss the hitch in her breath, or her hesitation. "It's complicated," she said.

Loki walked around the bed and stood before her, eyes narrowed. "This isn't for pleasure. It's for business."

Sigyn opened and closed her mouth several times, before saying, "You should see for yourself. He's sitting with your boyfriend in the living room."

"The living room…?" Loki didn't wait another second before making his way there. He saw Tony sitting on the couch, one arm resting on the back, and the television switched to early morning cartoons. He didn't wonder why Tony was watching that versus the science shows he and Bruce would geek over, but if he had, he would've been a little more prepared when he rounded the couch and caught sight of the child sitting there as well.

The child was small, at least two years in age. He was currently ignoring Loki, with green eyes focused on the cartoons, one hand tangled in his own black curls, and the other jamming a thumb in his mouth. Even a blind man could put two and two together.

Loki turned back toward the bedroom, where Sigyn was standing calmly. "You brought Nari?" he asked weakly.

She nodded. "That's why I came," she said. She motioned for them to talk elsewhere. Loki led them to the kitchen, where he poured himself a cup of coffee. "I can't care for Nari anymore," Sigyn continued. "It's become too hard on not only myself, but my family and Theoric. It's difficult, raising a child."

"And you assumed that you could just leave him with me and things would work out smoothly?" Loki replied.

"Well, financially, it would be easier for you."

"Money isn't the first problem, Sigyn. You do realize that I haven't even _met_ him face-to-face, and now you're just leaving him here and expecting that he'll adjust perfectly fine? I'm a stranger."

"You're his father."

"But to him, I'm a complete stranger. Does he even know who I am?"

"Did you forget the numerous pictures and phone calls we've had over the years? He's spoken to you. He's seen your face. He knows that you're his father."

"I'm surprised he doesn't call Theoric his father."

"Damn it, Loki, why are you being so stubborn?"

"What reason do I have not to be? Are you daft? This is too sudden and-and would it have killed you to talk to me about it first before making any rash decisions? I'm supposed to be attending college in a matter of weeks. I can't care for a child and attend school. He's too young for pre-school!"

"He's of the age and you know it. You're just looking for excuses to not be a father!"

"You're looking for excuses to stop being a mother!"

"No I'm not!"

"Um, guys?" Tony interrupted from the doorway. "I know we're all mad right now, but we can hear you from the living room, and I don't know how to deal with upset kids, so…"

Loki prayed he could use Tony for leverage. "Anthony, she's trying to leave Nari here and run back to Norway," he said. "She assumes we can just pick up from where she left off, no questions asked."

Unfortunately, luck was against him today. "I don't see why not," Tony said with a shrug. "We have room here. We can convert your room into a kid's room. He can start pre-school in the fall – how old is he?"

"Two," Sigyn answered. "He turned two last March."

"See? He's the right age. We can raise a kid."

"He's not like one of the robots you built as a child, Anthony," Loki said. "It's much more complex."

"So we'll learn through trial and error. I mean, if he's your kid, he'll be acting like a five-year-old."

"Thank you, Anthony," Sigyn said. Loki now found her sweet smile repulsive. "Now that this is settled, I must return home. My flight is in three hours, and the taxi driver has been parked outside for nearly twenty minutes." Sigyn brushed past Loki and Tony to say goodbye to Nari. Loki glared at Tony.

"What?" Tony asked. "I already put the kid's things in your room. It's really no big deal."

"You do know where you're spending tonight, right?" Loki asked coolly.

"No, but something tells me it'll be alone."

"Very much so, yes."

* * *

"I finally got Nari to sleep," Loki announced quietly as he tip-toed away from his closed bedroom door. "He wasn't too happy with his mother dumping him here. That's something we have in common."

"Don't be such a downer," Tony whispered as Loki sat down next to him on the couch. "Everyone acts weird when they're sleeping in a new place. He'll get over it. And, hey, he knows who you are! He even calls you Papa!"

"That doesn't change the fact that suddenly having fatherhood thrown in my arms is scaring the shit out of me," Loki said. "I feel horrible for missing so much of his life already."

"We both had shitty fathers who missed our lives. So far, you're doing better than them. Besides, there's your influence not to fuck it up with Nari."

"Hopefully I don't parent like Odin…" Realization dawned on Loki's face, and he quickly grabbed a nearby pillow and screamed, "_FUCK!_" into it as loud as he could.

"I don't remember the last time I've heard you swear so freely," Tony teased.

Loki turned to him with wide, worried eyes. "This is not funny, Anthony! How am I supposed to tell my family about this?"

Tony nodded slowly, chewing on the inside of his cheek. "Huh," he said. "Fuck, indeed."


	14. Chapter 13

Loki spent the next day with his son, trying to learn everything about him. Nari knew little English, but was fluent in Norwegian. He had no idea what the characters on TV were saying, but he liked to watch the pictures and colors. He would point out different colors or shapes, to which Loki would praise him. (Tony told Loki he would buy Nari all the Rosetta Stone English levels, but Loki said he'd rather teach Nari himself. If it were that big of a deal, Tony could learn Norwegian.) Nari also liked eating soft foods like macaroni and cheese, which Tony had a ridiculous supply of.

When Nari took an afternoon nap, Loki sat at the table, ripping up his college acceptance letters.

"Are you sure you wanna do that?" Tony asked from the other side.

Loki nodded. "I can't balance school and a child," he said. "It's for the best." He bit his lip, praying he wouldn't cry.

"I told you, I will pay for his pre-school tuition. You don't have to put yourself through this."

"No, no, it's fine." Loki ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath. "I'll do online classes until he's old enough to attend school. I can get a job, too."

"Loki, please, just let me–"

"No, Anthony!" Loki accidentally slammed his fist on the table. Fortunately, Nari stayed asleep. "You're already supporting me. I want to at least support my son. I need to prove to myself that I can."

Tony motioned for Loki to come around the table. He did so, and was pulled onto Tony's lap, sitting on him sideways with Tony's arms around his hips. "I know that you'll be a great dad," he said. "I mean, you keep me in line. If you can do that, you can do anything."

Loki sighed, leaning his cheek against Tony's head. "But how will I tell my family?"

* * *

The next day, Loki called his mother and brother over for dinner. He told them to show up an hour early, without saying why. He told them to bring Baldur and Jane, too, because Tony was planning on calling a caterer and would inevitably order too much for four people (he purposely said four because he didn't want to tip them off about Nari). Thor asked if Odin was invited. Loki said not until he accepted him living with Tony. Thor understood.

At five, the time he told his family to come over, Loki was sitting in his room, dressing Nari in khakis and a green plaid shirt, and avoiding having to answer the door. Tony had told him he couldn't hide forever, but let it go when the caterer arrived.

He heard the doorbell ring. He heard Tony greeting his family. He heard them ask about Loki. He heard a knock on his bedroom door.

"Loki?" Jane asked from the other side. "Tony said you're in here. You mother and brothers are in the living room. For some reason, Tony said I was the only one allowed over here…?"

Loki was thankful she was the one Tony sent. He quickly pulled her into the room. "I know this is sudden, but I need you to watch–"

"Who's that?" Jane had her eyes glued on Nari, who had his thumb in his mouth and was staring right back at Jane. The smart girl she was, she quickly figured it out. "Is that why you invited everyone here?"

"Yes," Loki admitted. "I just need you to watch after him while I explain things to my mother and Thor. Show him a picture book or something."

Jane's eyes were wide, but she nodded in agreement. "Take your time."

Loki quickly told Nari to behave for Jane, before exiting the bedroom and taking his time getting to the living room. Maybe, just maybe, something would stop him from the impending conversation. Perhaps Thor will choke on his food, or Loki will faint. But as luck would have it, he was hugged by his mother before reaching the couch, and once she let go, he was engulfed in Thor's massive arms. Tony pried them apart and led Loki to one of the couches, while Thor and Frigga sat on the other. Baldur was fast asleep in his carseat. Loki noticed that his mother's stomach was rounder than he remembered.

"Tony told us you have some news," Frigga said. "Is everything well?"

Loki glared at Tony, who shrugged back. "Yes, Mother, everything is well," he replied.

"I received a call from Sigyn the other day," Thor added. "Did she visit you?"

"Yes, she did. And about that, um, you see…" He was at a loss for words. He wasn't sure what to say next. What _could_ he say next that wouldn't land him in hot water? "When Sigyn left, we learned that she was… she had a… _we_ have…"

"What's wrong, Loki?" Frigga asked. But Loki couldn't respond. His lip quivered as he uttered out incoherent words. Tony reached over and took his hand, snapping him out of his daze.

"Why don't you just show them?" he suggested. "It might be more self-explanatory."

Loki nodded. He quickly rose and sped out of the room. Once he was behind the safety of his bedroom door, he could breathe. Jane, who had been showing Nari pictures of animals on her cellphone, was now staring at Loki.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Loki shook his head. "I can't do this," he told himself repeatedly. "I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't do this."

"Yes, Loki, you can." Jane stood and took one of Loki's hands in hers. "If you made it this far, I know you can keep going."

"I can see why Thor keeps you around. You're ridiculously optimistic."

Jane rolled her eyes and turned to Nari. "Do you want to meet your uncle and grandmother?" she asked in a high-pitched voice Loki found loathsome.

"He doesn't speak English," Loki said.

"Then ask him in whatever language he speaks. You're just dragging this out."

"Fine_._ _Nari, vil du møte din onkel og bestemor?_"

To Loki's chagrin, Nari smiled and nodded. Jane smirked and said, "Now you're cornered."

"Shut up." Loki picked up Nari and balanced him on one hip. "You go first."

"Oh, no, I'm not falling for that. You'll just lock the door behind me."

He underestimated her greatly. Loki opened the door, sucked in a breath, and held it as he walked into the main room. Nari, thumb in mouth, stared wide-eyed at his new family. Thor and Frigga both stood with the same looks on their faces as Nari, sans thumb.

"Neither Sigyn or I knew she was with child until she left," Loki explained. "She came by days ago to give me Nari."

"And you never told us?" Frigga asked.

"You wouldn't be as shocked if I had."

Nari moved his hand from his mouth and pointed at Frigga. "_Er du min bestemor?_" he asked.

Frigga's heart melted, and she smiled at the child. "_Ja, det er jeg_," she replied. She moved around the couch and took Nari in her own arms. "_Min, du er et vakkert barn._"

"What about a barn?" Tony asked.

"Brother, why did you keep him a secret?" Thor asked. "We could have helped. We could have sent money and gifts, possibly have helped reunite you and Sigyn to raise the child."

Two thoughts overwhelmed Loki. The first was the stroke of luck that his mother and brother had been accepting. The second was what Thor had said, and that if they had brought Sigyn back to the States, or Loki to Norway, she wouldn't have broken his heart. A hand flew to his mouth as he began to cry. Thor came over and hugged him. Loki wrapped his arms around the broad shoulders.

"I'm so sorry," he wept.

"Don't be, brother," Thor said. "You are brave for coming forward like this."

Loki cried harder.

* * *

Loki and Odin glared at each other from either side of Odin's large oak desk. Loki had his legs crossed at the knee, his hands folded on his thigh, and a scowl fixed on his face. Odin's hands rested on his desk, his one eye narrowed. They were in Odin's office at the company headquarters, the only place Loki would think about meeting Odin. He had Tony wait in the lobby, while Frigga had volunteered to babysit Nari. She wanted him and Baldur to become better friends. Loki knew that if Frigga wanted that, there was no doubt it would happen.

"How old is he?" Odin asked calmly.

"Two," Loki answered, tone just as even.

"When did you find out Sigyn was pregnant?"

"A couple of months after she moved to Norway."

"Did you plan on impregnating her and abandoning her?"

"No, Odin. We hadn't even planned on having sex in the first place."

"I highly doubt that."

"I don't care if you do. That's what happened."

"Do you want my money? Is that what you're here for?"

Loki snorted. "Please, Odin, don't flatter yourself. If I wanted money, Tony is richer than you tenfold. You don't need to treat me like a financial burden anymore."

"What about school?"

"I will be taking online classes–"

"Unacceptable." Odin rose from his seat, but didn't move closer to Loki. "You were second in your class. Five different Ivy League schools want you to enroll in their programs. You are not wasting it on some child you haven't gone near for most of its life."

"Do not call my son an 'it'. He is a beautiful boy, and he is my number one priority. At least I am still attending school, even if it's online."

"How are you to balance education and paternity? It isn't a game."

"I know that, Odin. How I do so is none of your business. Just know that I will."

Odin sat back down, his scowl akin to Loki's. "What a waste," he said. "You could have been a brilliant man when you earned your PhD. Guess that dream is burned to the ground."

Now Loki rose. "I see that you refuse to accept anything I do. I don't know why I bothered to come here at all. I will lead myself out. Hope you burn in hell, Odin."

When Loki reached the lobby, he grabbed Tony by the front of his shirt and growled, "Do not dare ask how it went. Just know that I require food for going through this."

Tony didn't question anything. Not even when Loki bought two gallons of ice cream from the local grocery store.


	15. Chapter 14

Loki held up a spoon in front of Nari, who reached out for it. Nari had the disadvantage of Loki being taller, on top of sitting at the kitchen table, but had the motivation to eat the cereal in front of him.

"What is this?" Loki asked.

"_Det er en skje!_" Nari cried.

"In English, Nari."

"Spoon!"

"Good." Loki handed over the utensil. Nari soon shoveled Cheerios into his mouth.

"Your methods of teaching are cruel," Tony said as he walked from the bedroom to the kitchen. "He's going to purposefully learn swear words just to cuss you out when you piss him off."

"And he will be punished if you teach him such things," Loki replied.

Tony gasped melodramatically. "You would blame me?"

"Absolutely."

"Rude." Tony poured himself a cup of coffee and chugged it in fifteen seconds. "What time does your shift start today?"

"Four," Loki answered. "And I don't get out till ten. If I can, I'll see if one of my coworkers can bring me home."

"I can pick you up from work!" Tony moved over to Loki, pulling him closer and keeping his hands on the other's hips. Loki instinctively moved his arms to rest on Tony's shoulders. "Besides, I love seeing you in your work uniform."

"A red polo and black pants are hardly attractive on anyone."

"Yeah, but I know that every now and then, you like to cheat and wear leggings, so don't think that you're getting out of this. Besides, Nari and I can have a late dinner there. We'll order something for you and you can eat it when we get home."

Loki sighed. "You're relentless."

"And you're beautiful." Tony stood on his toes and planted a kiss on Loki's lips. "And your coworkers are fucking hilarious."

"You find them amusing, but you don't have to spend thirty hours per week with them. They're horrid."

"You just hate everyone." Tony kissed him again. "At least, _most_ everyone."

"True," Loki agreed. "I don't hate Nari."

"Hey!"

"_Fine_. I like my mother, and Thor on occasion."

Tony pulled Loki closer, keeping a tight grip on the bottom of his shirt. "I won't let you go until you add my name to your list," he warned.

"Never!"

"I'll tickle you…"

"I won't surrender!"

"You asked for it!"

Loki was soon turned away from Tony, still trapped in his arms, and doubled over in laughter as he tried pushing Tony off. Nari was laughing at the spectacle from the table, banging his spoon against the table.

"Say it!" Tony demanded.

"Never!" Loki cried.

"Do it, Princess!"

"I will never be swayed by your malicious methods!"

"I'm not stopping until you do!"

Loki was finally too out of breath to continue this act. "Mercy! Mercy! I'll say it!" He waited for Tony to stop before turning back around and saying, "I like you."

"I'll take it," Tony said. "I like you, too." He backed off Loki and took out his phone. "I've gotta go now, but I'll be back by three."

"Don't your classes get done at one?"

"Yeah, but Bruce and I are working on this robot, and we want to iron out the final design before we start building tomorrow." Tony grabbed his keys off the counter and waved as he left.

When the door slammed shut, Loki counted to five, before Tony returned to retrieve his books.

"_Kan jeg få litt mer?_" Nari asked, holding out his empty bowl.

"Yes," Loki answered, refilling his son's bowl with a smile ghosting on his lips.

* * *

"Skurge, when we get married, can we have five of these?" Amora asked, holding up Nari.

"Shouldn't you graduate college first?" Loki asked from the dining area, where he was sending a report to his professor on his laptop.

"Hey, mister, you don't get to judge me. You were still in high school when he was born." Amora turned back to Nari, and said in her most babyish voice, "But that doesn't matter because you're still the cutest thing I've ever seen!"

Skurge just stared at his girlfriend. Whether it was because that was normal or because he didn't want to answer her question was anyone's guess.

Once the paper was sent, Loki shut his laptop. "Just because I don't think my actions through now and then doesn't mean you should do the same thing," he told Amora. He moved to the living room and sat on the unoccupied couch. "Raising children isn't easy. Plus I missed the more laboring times. There's crawling, standing, toilet-training, teething – they're all a mess."

"But they're the most important times of a child's life," Amora said. "Baby's first steps, first words, first birthday… aren't the best moments of any parent's life?"

"Can you drop it?" Loki snapped. He added, "It's not something I want to talk about." He knew that he'd missed the most important events of Nari's development, and he tried his best not to think about it. He had cried numerous times when Sigyn called to tell him about the first steps and words.

"Alright, sensitive guy," Amora said, handing Nari over to Loki. She then turned to Skurge and said, "I want at least three daughters. I don't care how many sons, but I won't consider stopping until I have three little girls."

* * *

"Hey, bub, you wanna do your goddamn job before I get Xavier to fire your ass?"

"Shut the hell up, Logan! You don't scare me!"

"Suck a thick one, Summers!"

"If I have to go back there and knock you both into your senses, I swear to god, both of you will be in the goddamn hospital!"

Loki leaned against the wall. "Who started it this time?" he asked.

Raven, who was leaning next to him, answered, "I think Scott caught Logan flirting with Jean again. That's usually what happens. Or, heaven forbid, Scott was intimate with his girlfriend."

"Can they break up already? Or let Scott get fired?"

"Depends on whether he finally makes a move on Emma. He's been eying her up since she had to clean the spilled juice last week, remember? The miniskirt?"

"Ah."

"Loki, you're not on break!" Logan called from the kitchen. "Start waiting on tables!"

"Why does he only yell at me?" Loki whined.

"Because I sleep with him and you're a guy?" Raven guessed.

Loki made a face as he crossed the diner to where the hostess, Anna Marie, had just sat down none other than Tony and Nari. Loki quickly perked up and slid beside Tony.

"I hope you didn't hear what those idiots were yelling about," he greeted.

"We did, and I'm glad your son barely knows a lick of English," Tony replied, kissing Loki's temple.

"_Jeg vil ha sjokolademelk!_" Nari cried.

Loki laughed. "Coming right up, my love. Coffee, right, Tony?"

"Yes, Princess," Tony said. "And thank you for wearing your leggings."

"I had no choice. You hid my slacks."

"I was just dropping hints."

Loki rolled his eyes and wrote down their orders. He went behind the counter and made their drinks, when Jean slide up beside him.

"So that's the famous boyfriend Raven thought you were making up?" she asked.

"Raven just wants to pretend that every person she meets is single so she can sleep with them," Loki said. "She likes having options when she and Irene get into fights."

"Everyone knows. She still has scratches from Logan on her. She wears them like a badge of honor." Jean turned to look at Tony. "He is handsome."

"Yes, he is."

"Who's the kid?"

"My son."

"I didn't know you had a kid."

"Well, now you do, and if he picks up the language from our peers, I will castrate them."

"Speaking of which, I think Scott is giving you the evil eye," Jean said. Loki looked around her, and sure enough, Scott was glaring through his red-tinted sunglasses.

"Of course he is," Loki muttered. Then, much louder, he told Scott, "Take a picture! It'll last longer!"

"How about you back the hell off my girlfriend," Scott retorted.

"How about you leave me the hell alone! In case you didn't notice, my boyfriend is sitting over there!"

"You're such a bullshitter!"

"And you're a fucking tool! Take off your sunglasses! You look even more like a douchebag when you wear them inside!"

"How about I kick your fucking ass!"

"Scott!" Jean snapped. "Go take your break!"

"Jean–"

"Do it before I call Ororo to do it for me!" Scott scowled at Loki, before storming outside.

"You have the worst taste in men," Loki told Jean.

"And your mouth is just as bad as the others," Jean shot back. "Now get back to work so I can reprimand my boyfriend."

Loki carried the two drinks over to his son and boyfriend. As he set them down, Tony let out a low whistle. "This place is just like free cable," he said.

"It's a nightmare," Loki said.

"I think I might bring my friends over here next week. They'd get a kick out of it, especially Clint."

Loki frowned. "Just tell me what you're ordering."

* * *

Once Nari was tucked into bed, and Loki was freshly showered, he crawled into bed beside Tony, cuddling close to him under the covers, with an arm thrown across the other's hips.

"Work is so exhausting," he moaned.

"Good thing I won't have to know until I'm twenty-one," Tony said. "That's when Stark Industries will be under my reign."

"Mmm, won't that be a spectacle. The laid-back Tony Stark doing work."

"I'll be the CEO. I won't have to do much."

"Oh, please, let there be a mentor to show you how ridiculously wrong you are."

Tony rolled his eyes and pulled Loki closer, stretching out on his back. "Maybe for Christmas, we can go to a private island. Or a nudist hotel."

Loki sat up so he could glare down at Tony. "You just want to see me naked," he pointed out.

"In all fairness, considering how many times we've been close to actual sex, neither of us have seen the other naked. A nudist hotel with a private nudist beach would be an easy way to get to see your butt."

"Really? _That's_ how you'd do it? Through spending thousands of dollars to stay in a hotel?"

"Well, my suggestion would be sharing a shower, but you already took one without me."

Loki scooted even closer, a suggestive grin on his lips. "Then how about we take next Friday," he said. "We have that giant group date, after all."

"What giant group date?" Tony asked.

"Really? We talked about this. You and me. Clinton and Natasha. Bruce with his new girlfriend. Steve with _his_ new girlfriend."

"Yeah, Betty and Sharon, right. What are we gonna do again?"

"There was that new restaurant you got us reservations at? They have a corner table set for eight? We went through this three days ago."

"_Right_." Tony rolled to his side. One leg slid between Loki's. "And where will Nari be?"

"With Uncle Thor and Aunt Jane," Loki answered with a smile. "And they promised to keep him overnight, just in case we 'stay out too late'."

"Good." Tony moved closer. Their noses were touching. "Then next week, we can do that shower. And, if you want, we can take things from the bathroom to the bedroom."

Loki bit his lip. "I think I'd like that." He leaned in and kissed Tony. No tongue, no biting, just pressed lips. Loki then pulled away and rolled to face away from Tony. "Now go to sleep. You have classes in the morning."

"As do you," Tony agreed, moving himself and Loki so they were spooning, before they both fell asleep.

Tomorrow, Loki would wake up and repeat the same process. School. Work. Nari. Tony. Amora and Skurge might show up tomorrow. Or Thor and Jane would. Sometimes, one of Tony's friends popped in. Mostly Pepper, to make sure Tony was doing okay. Or the Bartons, as Loki quickly discovered that Natasha was fluent in many languages, including Norwegian. They could talk in their foreign tongue, with Loki covering Nari's ears if they chose to swear, and see how long it took Clint to get upset.

Tomorrow, he would wake up and repeat the same process with a smile, because Loki felt he was truly happy with his life. His life with Tony and Nari.


	16. Chapter 15

Tony Stark was rarely known for his ability to follow up with any plans he made. Loki knew better; if Tony was interested enough, he'd go all out for it. So come Tuesday – of course, the day he had a ten hour shift and had to bribe Amora with jewelry to babysit Nari until Tony could pick him up – Loki found himself waiting on not only Tony, but also Steve, Clint, Natasha, Bruce, and Rhodey.

"And why aren't you at school?" Loki asked, hands on hips and weight shifted to his left leg.

Tony shrugged. "Preceptor day," he answered. "Classes stopped at noon. Didn't I tell you?"

"He's not lying," Bruce vouched. "We both visited our preceptors, too."

Loki was still unamused. "Should I guess why you're here?"

Before Tony could answer, they heard glass shatter, followed by Emma screeching from the other side of the restaurant, "Damn it, Raven, don't scare me like that!"

"Stop making up excuses for purposefully dropping shit," Raven said, flipping her red hair over a shoulder. "You always grow clumsy when you're wearing a skirt. A bit coincidental, don't you think?"

Scott announced that he was going on break and hightailed out of the diner. Emma's face reddened from a mix of embarrassment and anger. "Loki! Clean this shit up!"

"Hey, I'm not involved in your bullshit!" Loki shouted.

"I don't give a fuck! You're the newbie! You should do it!"

"I'll do it the day you wear underwear to work, you slut!"

"_Don't make me come out there, or I swear to god, you'll need stitches from the marks I'll leave on you bitches!_" Logan shouted from the kitchen.

Raven purred. "He's not kidding," she sneered.

Tony, Clint, and Rhodey were tearing up as they laughed. Loki grabbed one of the menus and hit each of their heads. "What do you want to drink?" he asked.

"_Loki!_"

He was going to get at least a five year sentence for murdering his coworkers. "What do you want, Emma?"

"I'm going home! Take my tables! I don't trust Raven!"

"What the fuck is _that_ supposed to mean?!"

The three started squabbling, which led Logan to come out of the kitchen with a rather large ladle as a weapon, before Ororo came from the manager's office and whipped them into shape. She sent Emma home for accidentally ("Accident my ass," Raven said) cutting her hand with broken glass, then split Emma's tables between Loki and Raven until she could call in Anna Marie or Kitty to fill in, which would be difficult because they were still in school.

Loki guessed all the drinks for Tony's table and brought them with a scowl on his face. "If I hear a single complaint, Barton gets it."

"Why me?" Clint whined.

"Why do you work here?" Steve asked as he accepted a glass of water. "They seem…"

"Fucking annoying?" Loki guessed.

"I was going to say high-strung, but that works."

"Tony finds them rather amusing."

"As true as it is," Tony admitted, "I also like seeing your work uniform." He pulled at the waistband of Loki's leggings for emphasis.

"I like not having my pants stolen."

"You'll get over it, Princess."

* * *

On Friday, near dusk, Loki was knocking on his mother's door. Fortunately for him, Thor was temporarily staying with Frigga until she gave birth, and maybe a little longer to help with Baldur, meaning Loki didn't have to be near Odin. Unfortunately, Thor's friends were all there, and none other than Fandral opened the door for Loki and Nari, who was currently held in Loki's arms. Tony had parked the car in the driveway and was smoking a cigarette.

"Cute kid," Fandral said.

Loki scowled. "_Ikke snakk med denne mannen, Nari,_" he hissed to his son as he slid past Fandral and walked into the den. Thor and the rest of his crew were playing on their phones as they waited for Fandral to return so they could resume their game. Thor looked up and smiled at his brother and nephew.

"You look dashing," Thor said.

"I hope so," Loki said, grunting a bit as he put Nari down. He toddled over to Thor and held on to his pantleg. "Tony insisted on buying me a new suit for the evening. Do you like it?" He motioned to his outfit – a green dress shirt, black slacks and suit jacket, and black shoes.

"Brother, you would look flattering in a paper bag," Thor laughed. "You have no need to worry."

"It's a bit unsettling to receive such compliments from my brother, biological or not."

Jane entered the room and walked over to Nari. She picked him up and balanced him off her hip. "If you want, Loki, I have a few games Darcy loaned me. She says her little cousins love them," she said.

Loki nodded. "That would be most appreciated, thank you. I shall return in the morning to retrieve him. If you need anything–"

"Go out and enjoy yourself!" Thor insisted. "If anything, he can wear Baldur's clothes and share his bed. We'll figure it all out."

Again, Loki nodded. He waved to Sif, Hogun, and Volstagg, all of whom were staring at Loki's son, and started leaving. Fandral was still at the door, smirking at Loki.

"Those pants do flatter you," he said. "They're fitting in all the right places."

"My boyfriend is waiting outside," Loki snapped. "Your advances are discomforting, and I believe my brother is waiting for you." He slammed the door behind him to emphasize his annoyance. Tony was going to ask why Loki was quiet, but a quick glare kept him quiet, too.

* * *

Loki found himself occupied by the other couples.

First by Bruce and his girlfriend, Betty Ross. She was in the same field as him at MIT, taking the same classes and aiming for the same career path. At first, Betty was quiet. Her gaze had been transfixed with her own feet. Then Bruce had Tony mention their current project, and she immediately perked up. Now as they ate, Bruce and Betty would accidentally brush fingers or bump elbows and quickly apologize, before laughing and shyly sharing glances. It was sickening yet sweet.

Next he looked to Steve and his girlfriend, Sharon Carter. He quickly picked up on two vibes. One was a sense of a laid-back, care-free personality, less like Tony's and more like Bruce's. Two was a cautious one, like she was analyzing those around her for potential threats, like Natasha. But next to Steve, she was all giggles and smiles. Steve was always blushing and complimenting her, as the perfect shy boyfriend. Loki had faith in them as a couple.

Then came the married couple. They were different as individuals. Natasha reminded him of a cat – beautiful and elegant, but one wrong move and you were in deep shit. Clint was always tripping over his feet or words, and was often hit for making unnecessarily rude comments. Yet they were playing footsies under the table and linking their pinkies together. Once, Clint kissed Natasha's wedding band. As a random side thought, Loki realized that if Natasha donned the ring in a fight, her left punches would be much more painful, and that he should avoid angering her even more than he already was.

Finally, there was himself and Tony. They already stood out from the rest as the only same-sex couple in the building. The patrons had no shame for staring and pointing with their cutlery. They were also the only parents in the group, something known amongst those at the table and a few others. (Tony considered himself Nari's third parent, and Loki often caught Tony teaching Nari to call him "Daddy". He found it too endearing to tell him he knew.) In fact, when Loki thought hard about it, he still wondered how Tony Stark, who had had wonderful women like Pepper Potts in his life, was attracted to him. He was this tall, awkward, abrasive, bitter mess, _and_ a teenage dad. Tony had his life together, drinking aside, and was soon going to have his own multi-billionaire business to run. He could have any person in the world by then – and he could _now_. To Loki, he believed his only other option was Fandral, whom he refused to touch with a thirty-mile pole.

His paranoia vanished when Tony suddenly kissed his temple. "You look very beautiful tonight," he whispered. Loki's face burned, and he tried to play it off, but Tony wasn't having it. "No matter what happens when we get home–" As if Loki wasn't nervous enough, now he remembered their _other plans_ for the evening, "–I still love you."

All those reasons why Tony shouldn't be with him were gone. Tony loved him. He didn't know or care why. He was fine knowing that Tony just did.

* * *

He was unbelievably nervous, Loki decided, as he unbuttoned his dress shirt with shaky fingers. Tony was currently showering, and Loki knew it was to give him some privacy, which he was grateful for. But his nerves were only more worked up. This was the moment. He was going to expose his most vulnerable side of himself to Tony, and they would share the most intimate time of their relationship. Most people found this thrilling or magical. Loki's heart was running a mile a minute.

What if he was bad? What would qualify as bad? What did Tony expect of him? Was there anything he should expect Tony do to? Did Tony have any protection? Did either of them have STDs? He hoped Tony was tested beforehand, because Loki didn't have enough physical contact with anyone between Sigyn and Tony to contract anything, and he tested himself after Sigyn left – negative for everything, thankfully.

As Loki stripped off his shirt, leaving him in only pants and underwear, his phone rang. He panicked when he saw Thor's number. "Is something wrong? Is Nari okay?" he asked.

It turned out that Jane had been the one to call. "_Nari's fine,_" she assured. "_But your mom went into labor an hour ago. We're at the hospital now. Thor and I are out in the lobby with Nari and Baldur, and your dad's with your mom in the maternity ward. I know tonight's your date night, but do you think you can make it here in the next hour or so?_"

"Yes," Loki answered. "I'll be there soon. Need anything on the way?"

"_The cafeteria's still open. I'll get coffee for you guys and juice for the kids. See you then._"

"Goodbye, Jane." Loki hung up the phone and let out a sigh of relief. Now he didn't have to psych himself out about having sex with Tony. Then he panicked, because _his mother was in labor._

He'd been so distracted between his own thoughts and Jane's phone call that he didn't hear the shower turn off. When Tony cleared his throat, Loki was shocked by his boyfriend standing in the door way, dripping wet in all his naked glory.

"You ready?" he asked, grinning in a way that had Loki going wild inside.

But now wasn't the time. Loki let out a whine as he fell back on the bed. "My mother is in labor, and we have been told to go to the hospital," he complained.

Tony sighed. "Of course we do," he grumbled as he went back into the bathroom for a towel.

* * *

"Tony, my friend, you look upset," Thor noted when they appeared. "I hope we didn't interrupt something important."

"You didn't give us a chance to start," Tony retorted, earning him an elbow jab from Loki.

"How is she?" Loki asked.

"The nurses say she's pulling through," Thor said. "I'm not exactly sure how long it will take before we have a new sibling."

"If it was anything like Baldur's birth, it will be a few more hours," Loki said. He picked Nari up from his chair and sat down. "Sigyn said Nari was practically crawling out."

"That's horrible imagery," Tony said. "Way to ruin my appetite."

"I highly doubt that _food_ is on your mind."

"You're completely right. However, I won't mention what's on my mind around two kids and a man who could kill me with three fingers." Thor took this as a compliment and smiled warmly. Loki rolled his eyes and bounced Nari, humming to help him fall asleep. He prayed his mother would push out this child soon. Not because he was eager to meet the newest Odinson, but because as much as he was terrified to do so, he really wanted to pick up where he and Tony left off.

Two hours and little progress later, Loki knew that wasn't going to happen.


	17. Chapter 16

Hodur Odinson was born on October third. He weighed seven pounds, thirteen ounces. He had his parents' blond hair and blue eyes one month later.

He was also blind.

"Is there anything we can do, Mother?" Thor asked after Frigga returned from putting her youngest son down for a nap.

"I'm afraid not," she said, "and even if we could, he's only one month old. He's too young to go into surgery for anything that isn't life-threatening."

"But how will he ever see us? Or anything? Isn't learning colors and writing numbers a part of growing up for any child?"

"He can learn braille," Loki said. "Besides, they say people who have one sense weakened have the other four senses heightened. His senses of touch, smell, hear, and taste should be better."

"Thank you, Loki, for your optimism," Frigga said. She smiled wearily. "However, raising Hodur alongside Baldur will prove much more difficult than before. I may need more help around the house from one or both of you, if it isn't too much trouble."

"I can stay longer," Thor offered. "Father shouldn't mind. Perhaps I can ask him to come by more often than you two previously scheduled."

"Loki?"

Loki shook his head. "Between work, school, and Nari, my schedule is too full for little more than the occasional break from it. If you want, I can ask Amora to be a nanny. There's a chance she won't ask for a salary. She's enamored with young children."

"That is much appreciated, both of you." Frigga turned to where Baldur and Nari were playing with large cardboard building blocks. "How has it been, raising Nari?"

"It's a new experience, for sure. I'm close to affording a pre-school tuition for the spring semester; however, his English needs a little more work."

"Loki, he is only two. He's not expected to be bilingual at such a young age, you know."

"I do. But I want to make things easier on him."

"What about Tony?" Thor inquired. "Has he been of any help?"

Loki snorted. "He's the self-titled third parent, and he keeps on prodding me to let him pay for Nari."

"Why don't you let him?"

Loki sat back on the couch and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm already financially dependent on him," he said. "I know that he loves to throw money in the wind with little care, but I want to prove that I can raise my own son. Paying for his pre-school education will be my personal accomplishment as a parent. Tony knows, and he's trying to back off, but he's a nuisance about such things."

Frigga smiled. She reached over and squeezed Loki's knee. "Because he cares about you," she said.

"I know," Loki said. "I know."

* * *

Early December was the official end of classes – for Tony and Loki both. Loki wanted to celebrate peacefully, over a nice dinner with a bottle of wine, and perhaps a private night without Nari, so they could pick up where they left off on the night of Baldur's birth. Tony told him he'd rather celebrate with his colleagues. So Loki was in the apartment, Nari fast asleep in his room, celebrating with the last person he expected: Pepper Potts.

"The benefit of being friends with Tony Stark," she said as she poured red wine into two glasses, "is access to his alcohol collection." She set the bottle down and carried the glasses to the couch, handing one to Loki as she sat down. "Back when we started dating, I insisted he add more wine to his alcohol stock. He was against it at first, but when I pretended to hate scotch, he took me to Napa Valley for my birthday for a wine tasting, and bought my five favorites."

"Well, Virginia, I must commend your wonderful taste," Loki said. They clinked glasses and sipped gingerly. "Another benefit of being Anthony's friend is that he can get alcohol, despite still being a minor."

"That too," Pepper agreed with a giggle. Her fingertips slid around the mouth of the glass as she talked. "But he stopped drinking wine with me after the first few dates with them. I had my bottle of wine, and he had his bottle of scotch."

Loki hummed as he took another sip. "We had wine on our first few dates," he said. "And the last one, too, but I think Steven's stern looks helped him make that decision."

"I'm glad he keeps people like Steve close. He won't let Tony go make stupid decisions. Plus, if they all go out drinking like they do tonight, Steve is always the most sober."

"Why is that?"

"Apparently, he has a _very_ high alcohol tolerance. Tony tried once to give Steve something close to alcohol poisoning, and he could still walk straight and speak coherently. It's a great gift to have. Only if he could share his super sobriety with Tony."

Loki nodded and glanced at the clock on the cable box. Almost eleven at night. He wondered what time Tony would be coming back. He prayed it wouldn't be too late.

* * *

Pepper insisted on staying until Tony did return, in case something went wrong and she needed to get him, or worse, drive Loki to the hospital. So at nearly seven in the morning, Loki and Pepper both awoke on the couch as the door slammed open. Natasha was the one to open the door. Steve, Rhodey, and Clint were carrying Tony, who was barely conscious. Bruce was directing traffic from behind – now more softly as they all entered the apartment. Loki and Pepper were quickly on their feet, the former's nostrils flaring in anger at his boyfriend.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" he asked Tony, who just grumbled incoherently in response.

"We tried convincing him to leave," Bruce explained. "Apparently there was a hidden VIP area that he took off to. We spent hours looking for him. Uh, should we put him in the bedroom or…?"

"Drop him on the floor."

Everyone stared at Loki. "Are you sure?" Clint asked. "I mean, I know he deserves it, but–"

"Just do it." He nearly snarled when Steve told Clint and Rhodey to let go of Tony, just to carry him into the bedroom. But he refused to let Tony get away with his actions. He went into the kitchen, poured himself a glass of water, returned to the bedroom, and threw it on his boyfriend, who quickly woke up, spluttering.

"What the hell was that for?" he yelped.

"For returning home past dawn after spending the night getting wasted," Loki answered. He set down the glass on the dresser and crossed his arms. "Do you have any idea what you've put us all through?"

"Um, does anyone want breakfast?" Pepper asked. "I can go down the street to that little bakery and pick up doughnuts."

"I'll come with," Steve, Rhodey, and Clint volunteered.

"Bruce can come." Much more quietly, Loki heard her add, "I don't want the two of them left alone." He was glad when she shut the door. God only knew what would happen between them.

"I was worried sick," Loki continued. "I had no idea where you were, or if you were even okay. If something were to happen, and Pepper wasn't here, who was I to call to get me to you? Huh?" Tony just sat up, staring at Loki with darkened eyes. "Well? Are you going to answer me?" Tony stood, head tilted up to still look Loki in the eye. "Is drinking yourself into an early grave that important to you?"

"Fuck off," Tony muttered.

Loki's eyes went comically wide. "What did you just say?"

"I said to fuck off. I have a headache, and your bitching isn't helping." Tony rolled himself into the covers. Loki snarled; he wasn't letting Tony slide again. He straddled his boyfriend and began shaking him.

"You have no excuse to go out partying for nearly eleven hours, Anthony," he said. "Celebrating or not, that is unacceptable."

"Who are you, my father?" came Tony's muffled reply.

"No, I'm your boyfriend. And I care about you."

"Don't bother. It's none of your goddamn business."

"It is too my goddamn business. You call yourself a father, but you're too busy drinking like a fish to act like one!"

"Pot calling the kettle black. How long have you been any kind of parent to your kid?"

Something in Loki snapped. He grabbed one of the pillows and began whacking Tony with it, putting all his strength and force into each swing. "You don't get to judge me and my decisions, you drunk asshole!" he shouted. "Especially ones I didn't have a choice in!"

"Yeah, but when he came to the State, you were ready to send him back," Tony accused.

Loki decided screw the pillow, threw it aside, and began hitting him with his fists. "Say one more thing about me and my son, and I swear–"

"Get the hell off!" Tony suddenly threw Loki from him. He unraveled from his cocoon and pinned Loki by his wrists to the bed. "Don't you fucking hit me," he growled.

"Don't attack me because you're too wasted to stand," Loki spat.

"You take that back."

"Anthony, you're hurting me," Loki said, wincing as Tony's grip tightened.

"I said take that back!"

Loki jerked; now we wasn't as angry as he was scared for his life, as Tony bared his teeth and twisted his fingers tighter around Loki. "Get off! You're hurting me!" he shrieked.

Suddenly, Natasha appeared, throwing herself on Tony's back and pulling him off. Loki sat up and rubbed his sore wrists as Natasha squeezed Tony's head and neck between her legs. From the other room, Nari began crying. Forgetting his boyfriend, Loki rushed into the other bedroom. He picked up his son and tried soothing him into silence. Steve appeared in the doorway, concern in his eyes.

"What happened in there?" he asked.

Loki shook his head. "I don't even know," he said. "One minute, we were talking, and then… it just went askew."

"Do you need to go somewhere else for a while?"

"No, Steven, thank you. I can… I'll figure this out."

"Should we leave?"

Loki shook his head. "I don't want to be left alone with him."


	18. Chapter 17

Loki spent the next two nights sleeping in the guest room with Nari. He stayed in there as much as he could, only venturing out when Tony wasn't home, if Nari needed something, or for work. Thor found out what happened through Jane, who was told by Pepper during their shared calculus class. His older brother demanded that he come live with him at Odin's, but Loki politely refused. To appease Thor, he called Frigga and asked if he could stay with her. Fortunately, there were a few open rooms for him and Nari, and they could come whenever they were ready. Loki arranged for Pepper to bring him to his mother's, only because she was one of the few people he could trust anymore.

The day he was going to leave, he decided to take off work and submit his classwork a day in advance, so he could sit around the apartment and soak in the last few minutes. Nari was with Thor and Jane, Christmas shopping for the family and their friends. They promised to bring Nari to Frigga's, and told Loki not to worry about him, just about getting his final thoughts and belongings together.

Loki never told Tony he was leaving. He didn't know how Tony would take it, nor how long he would be gone. It could be a few weeks; it could be a few years. He wasn't sure if they would come in contact while they were separated. He didn't know what this meant for their relationship.

He didn't want to break up with Tony, but he wasn't sure if this qualified as a break-up.

Loki's things were packed and left in Nari's room, so Tony would have less of a chance to look for it. He only left out a change of clothes, as he stripped down to nothing and went to take a shower. He could have easily gone into the hall bathroom, but he opted for the master bathroom. Call him an optimist, but he wanted Tony to come home and see him. Try to talk things out. Just… something. _Anything_.

Lady Luck was in his favor. He heard Tony's keys hit the counter – the telltale sign that Tony was home – and the footsteps grow nearer to the bathroom. Loki pulled back the door just enough to see if Tony was there. He was staring back blankly.

"Hey," he said.

Loki smiled weakly. "Hello, love," he greeted.

"Um, long time, no see, right?"

"Yes." Loki nodded and took a deep breath. "If you'd like, you may join me in here."

"Sure." Loki shut the door while Tony undressed. He massaged shampoo into his scalp and rinsed it out. When he heard the door slide open and shut, he turned to see Tony, standing naked and appearing afraid. "Is something wrong, my love?"

"Are we okay?" Tony asked. "We haven't talked in a while, and some fucked-up shit happened last time. I'm scared that you're… you're not leaving me, are you?"

Loki shook his head. "Of course not," he said.

"Are you sure? You keep on calling me 'love'…"

"Am I not allowed to?"

"…and there's a suitcase packed in Nari's room."

_Shit. So much for subtlety._ "I'm only leaving the apartment for a while," Loki admitted. "I just need some space and time to let these past days go through me and settle down. I don't want to end our relationship just yet."

"'Just yet'? You were really thinking about…?" Tony's eyes were caught on one of Loki's wrists, where vague finger-shaped bruises were fading. He took the wrist and held it to his cheek, eyes closed. Loki wasn't sure if Tony was crying.

"I'm sorry for my actions," Loki apologized quietly. "They were uncalled for."

"I never meant to hurt you," Tony whimpered. He placed gentle kisses to the bruises. "I'm so sorry." Loki pulled Tony into a hug, his arms tight around Tony's shoulders, as water from the showerhead continued pouring on them. When he imagined their first time nude together, he didn't imagine it being so depressing and heart-wrenching.

"I promise to return," he whispered.

"I promise to wait," Tony replied.

"I hope you do."

_I love you_, Loki wanted to add. _I love you so much, Anthony._ For some reason, he couldn't let himself say the words out loud.

* * *

That evening, when Pepper pulled into Frigga's driveway, Loki asked if she could come inside. Pepper hesitated to answer, until she was told that it was important. Naturally, Frigga was all hugs when she opened the door, and made tea for them all. Loki didn't drink his right away; he held it tight in his hands and stared at the hot drink.

"How long do you plan on staying?" Frigga asked.

"I don't know," Loki answered. "Until Anthony can recognize that he has a problem, I assume. However long that takes."

Pepper stared at him with a neutral face, but he could see the doubt in her eyes. "I'm not sure that's a good idea," she said. "Knowing Tony, he'll be on his deathbed and still ask for another drink."

"He knows," Loki insisted, "that he's gone too far."

"Did something happen?" Frigga asked. "Is Tony being violent?"

Loki winced, before putting down his cup to roll up one of his sleeves. The two women's breaths hitched at the sight. "He didn't intend on hurting me. In all fairness, I was the one to strike him first. He was only trying to stop me from getting another hit in."

"Damn it, Loki," Frigga said, _tsk_ing at her son. "I don't know which one of you should be scolded more; you for attacking Tony, or Tony for leaving marks on your skin." In the other room, Hodur began crying. Frigga excused herself and went to tend to her youngest.

"Tony never hit me," Pepper said quietly. "Whenever he got drunk around me, he would start breaking things and making a mess of himself, but he was never trying to hurt me directly – or indirectly, in your case. One time, I had to call Rhodey to calm him down, when he began using one of his homemade lasers to destroy glasses and furniture. They wrestled in the living room until Tony passed out." She let out a laugh and shook her head. "His tolerance must've gotten better since I left him."

"I don't know what would have happened if no one was there," Loki wondered aloud. "I wasn't strong enough to knock Tony off, or at least loosen his grip. If Natasha hadn't come along…" Loki put down the cup and put his hands over his mouth. How far would Tony have gone if no one was there to save him?

"Loki, I'm sorry to change the topic, but why did you ask me to stay?" Pepper asked. "Do you still need something from the apartment? Or do you need to tell Tony something?"

Loki shook his head and composed himself. "Sigyn and I – Sigyn is Nari's mother – never named any godparents for Nari. We didn't really have mutual that we could trust, not even our families. And she didn't name any without my knowing – she told me so over the phone a month ago. So I was hoping that… _you_ would be Nari's godmother."

Pepper nearly dropped her cup. "Me? Why?"

"Because, Virginia–"

"Please, don't call me that," she interrupted.

Loki glared for a moment, before continuing, "_Pepper_, you are the only person I can trust. And I know that Tony trusts you, too. If it should be anyone, I'd rather it be someone who I would entrust my life with."

"Loki, this is a serious decision. Are you sure?"

"Are you?"

Pepper stared at him, before slowly nodding. "I am."

"Good." Loki smiled. "I'm sure you'll be a great role model for him as he gets older."

"I hope so." Pepper let out another laugh. She wiped away the tears forming in her eyes. "God, I never thought I'd be a godparent. What does a godparent even do?"

"I don't know. All I know is that they're important."

* * *

Even as a twenty-year-old man, Thor was always the most excited person on Christmas Day. When they were younger, Thor would sneak into Loki's room and shook him awake. Then they'd tiptoe into Odin and Frigga's room, making sure they were fast asleep before jumping on the bed to wake them up.

Thor decided that this was still appropriate as an adult, and the entire house was awoken by Loki and Thor's screaming.

Frigga and Jane were standing in the doorway, holding Baldur and Hodur with Nari standing between them with a hand on Jane's pantleg, just in time to see Loki kick Thor off the bed.

"You obnoxious oaf!" he shouted. "I hate it when you do that!"

"But Loki!" Thor whined. "It's Christmas."

Loki turned to Jane. "I hope you understand that he does this every year."

"He did the same thing to me on my birthday _and_ our anniversary," Jane said. "It's better than what Darcy does."

Loki didn't get a chance to ask what made Darcy's approach worse than Thor's before Nari toddled to the bed and asked when they could open presents. Thor smiled triumphantly and picked up his nephew, announcing that there was no better time than now (barely six in the morning, Loki noted bitterly). The Odinson family and Jane peregrinated downstairs, where Thor tasked himself with distributing the presents to each person, then made a production out of everyone opening their presents one at a time.

Hodur received toys and clothes from every relative in the Odinson, Borrson, and Fjorgynndottir families – at least the ones who they knew of (Loki and Thor still fought over whether they should contact their other siblings or not; Loki believed they should, while Thor was hesitant). Baldur received more toys than clothes. Nari received more clothes than toys, and a few books as well. Frigga received jewelry and a coat from her sons. Jane received new lab equipment. Thor received a new car (something Odin, Frigga, Jane, and Loki pooled their money together for). Loki received clothes and books, and adamantly refused to reveal the gift Amora gave him, although the older members of the group understood by Loki's red face.

Around eleven, the doorbell rang. Loki, who had been watching _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_ with his brothers and son, went to answer it, and was surprised when he saw Pepper carrying an armful of gifts.

"Merry Christmas!" she announced joyfully.

"Pepper, as helpful as you've been in these past months, you didn't have to bring gifts," Loki replied.

"Well, I did buy one for you and one for Nari, but they're not just mine." Loki's brow furrowed as he stepped back to let Pepper through. He led her to the living room and motioned for her to take the spot he had been occupying. "I was at Tony's this morning, and apparently, he never had the chance to give you any presents to at least have for Christmas, so he demanded I deliver these to you." Loki, on the other hand, had left all the presents he bought for Tony back at the apartment. Two of the larger boxes were placed on the cushion between her and Nari. "These are for him. The rest are yours." She pushed the remaining three gifts – two giftbags and a tiny box – in Loki's direction.

Nari, being a two-year-old child, tore through the wrappers, to find a toy truck from Pepper and a giant collection of kids' movies. He thanked Pepper in Norwegian, then in English when Loki gave him a stern look.

"According to Tony," Pepper said, "they are in Norwegian and English. You can play them in one language and have the other language in subtitles. He thinks it'll help him pick up on English."

Loki nodded and bit his lip. He didn't want to hate Tony, yet he felt like he should, and that was impossible when Tony was so considerate. Loki shook it off and took one of the giftbags. Inside were books on writing.

"I think they might help you through college, you know?" Pepper explained.

"Thank you," Loki said quietly. "I know they will."

He reached into the second giftbag and felt a piece of paper first. Loki pulled it out and read Tony's messy handwriting:

_I don't know how long this will be, so I thought you'd like to have these._

Curiously, Loki peered into the bag, then nearly shoved it over when he spotted its contents.

"Is everything alright, Brother?" Thor asked.

"Yeah, it's just…" Loki reached into the bag and took out the first pair of black pants. "These are my work pants. Anthony hid them all from me because he wanted to see me wearing leggings instead. He liked it when I wore them."

"By the way, they were in his trunk," Pepper said.

_Because he knew I wouldn't look there. Smart ass._ Loki picked up the small box and unwrapped the paper gently. He opened the lid of the box and gasped at the jewelry inside. It was a gold chain necklace, with the center being a careful thin carving of his name attached to the chain. Once, Loki had pointed at a sample version of this in a store window, waxing nostalgic of how he and Amora both wanted necklaces like those but could never afford them (he never actually said this aloud to Amora, because then he would have to admit that he was beyond jealous when Skurge bought her one for their one-year anniversary). Tony had scoffed and said he could make a better one without the ridiculous price.

_Damn it, Anthony_, Loki thought as he wiped tears from his eyes. _Why must you treat me like such a gentleman?_


	19. Chapter 18

New Years' Eve and Day had never been a wild holiday in the Odinson house. Odin and Frigga used to attend business parties, which led to them coming home arguing, but had stopped attending parties together when Baldur was born. Loki spent one with Sigyn, sipping wine that Frigga had slipped them and talking about the nonsense behind holidays like welcoming the new year, when there were several new years in every year outside of the Gregorian calendar. Thor's idea of celebrating was playing video games (Jane always went to visit family on New Year's Eve anyway).

So come New Year's Eve, seven hours before the next year began, Thor asked Loki if he wanted to go out with him and his friends. Loki's immediate response was, "Absolutely not."

"Come on, Brother," Thor begged. "It shall be fun! I know that you have a wild side underneath all that brooding."

Loki scoffed. "Please, Thor, you know there is nothing I'd rather do than spend New Year's Eve as far from your idiotic friends as I can."

"What about Tony's party? I recall a certain someone dancing with every person he knew."

"That's different."

"Different how? You know my friends."

"Don't you remember the animosity between us? How awkward my presence will make the evening?"

Thor rolled his eyes. "I guess Plan A isn't going to get me anywhere. I shall resort to Plan B."

"And what is Plan B?" Thor smiled and left the room. Loki stared after him in confusion, until he heard his brother say, "Mother, Loki refuses to spend this wonderful holiday with me for no reason."

"Loki!" Frigga called out. "You shall spend time with Thor tonight!"

"Mother!" Loki whined, stamping his feet childishly as Thor returned with an even bigger shit-eating grin. "I'm a college student! You can't expect me to follow such unnecessary orders!"

"You're not an adult yet, so the law tells me I can!"

"Go get changed," Thor said, crossing his arms. "We're leaving around nine, and I know you'll want to take your time to look your best."

Loki knew better than to argue that. Thor once timed him while he was preparing for a date with Tony. "And where are we going?" he asked. "The oldest of your friends is Volstagg, and he's only twenty."

"Fake IDs, Brother," Thor answered. "If you want it – and have the ability to use it for the rest of your underage years – I'd suggest you go upstairs and get ready."

Thor knew Loki too well. "If you're driving your friends and don't allow me to sit in the front seat, I'm not going anywhere." His face reddened in annoyance as he stalked upstairs, Thor's laughter following him.

* * *

"You know, I don't think I've seen you in any colors other than black and green," Fandral said, sliding next to Loki at the bar. "Do you own any other colors?"

Loki glared at him over the rim of his margarita. "I have a gold shirt," he answered coolly before taking a sip.

"Even your drink matches your shirt."

"Perhaps I like the drink, not the color. Sort of how I preferred not talking to anyone before you came over to me and began running your mouth."

"That's a nice necklace. Where'd you get it from?"

Loki quickly hid his jewelry under his shirt. "What do you want, Fandral?"

"I'm just trying to loosen you up, you know?" Fandral pulled his cellphone from his pants pocket and checked the time. "We have T-minus fifty minutes before it's officially the new year, and you're still acting stiff and antisocial. I'm here to change that."

"Maybe we'll get lucky and the apocalypse will happen at the second before it turns," Loki said.

"And would you change your mind if I bought you some drinks?" Loki paused mid-sip, giving Fandral a look to tell him to keep going. "Finish your margarita – which is _not_ a drink for such a holiday – and we'll do some end-of-the-year shots. We can stop whenever you want, I swear."

Loki continued to stare as he let Fandral's words go through his mind. He quickly chugged the rest of his drink and set the empty glass down. "I'll accept your offer."

Nearly ten shots of various alcohols later, none of which Loki could remember by name, he was out on the dance floor with Fandral. His mind was everywhere and nowhere all at once. He wondered who chose this song. He wondered where Thor and the rest of his friends had gone (hopefully home). He wondered who these strangers were that he couldn't help bumping in to. He wondered how his son was doing, and if he was watching the New Year's ball drop at home with his uncles (it was weird, to think of Baldur and Hodur as uncles of a boy older than them) and grandmother. He wondered how much sex Amora and Skurge were having, per tradition. Surely she would text him all about it tomorrow. He wondered about how bad his hangover would be tomorrow morning. He hated throwing up.

Then he focused on Fandral. He was quite the smooth dancer, and was keeping a safe enough distance from Loki. It was respectable, but at the same time, Loki _wanted_ the contact. When he was dancing, he preferred to have a partner who wasn't afraid to touch him. Even at Tony's party, Thor twirled him around once or twice, before Darcy insisted he do the same to her. Loki turned his back to Fandral and pressed closer against him. His hands snaked around to grab the blond hair of his befuddled partner, who in turn placed his hands on Loki's hips and moved them in the same motion as his own.

How long they'd been grinding was beyond Loki, but he did recognize the familiar countdown once it began.

**Ten!**

"Have you ever kissed someone on New Year's Day?" Fandral asked Loki.

**Nine!**

Loki noticed how close Fandral's lips were to his ear. He could feel the other's hot breath.

**Eight!**

"No," he answered.

**Seven!**

It suddenly didn't seem like such a silly tradition anymore.

**Six!**

"Would you like to?"

**Five!**

Loki turned around to face Fandral. He was so close to his own face.

**Four!**

Perhaps, just this once, he could let himself try something new. Something exciting.

**Three!**

They both leaned in.

**Two!**

A hand landed roughly on Loki's shoulder, but it was too small to be Fandral's.

**One!**

Loki found himself being spun around, as Fandral shouted, "What the fuck?"

**Happy New Years!**

Loki's lips narrowly missed being placed on Fandral's, and instead were locked with Tony's. When they pulled away, Loki found himself in a reversed situation. For once, he was the one caught red-handed doing something wrong, while Tony looked ready to chew him out.

* * *

Loki regretted leaving with Tony. He regretted not arguing enough with his mother about leaving the house tonight. He regretted coming out to the damned club. He most certainly regretted almost kissing _Fandral_, of all people, since he and Tony were technically still in a relationship.

"Are you sure you didn't want to leave me?" Tony asked as he unlocked the front door to his apartment. "Because you seemed pretty content back there with Blondie."

"It was just going to be a New Year's kiss," Loki defended. Were his words slurring? "It's traditional. I'm sure you've had plenty of your own." He pushed past Tony and marched into the apartment, flinching when the door was slammed shut.

"Yeah, I have. With my girlfriends at the time. And since when do you celebrate anything?"

"Since I have an annoying brother." Loki walked into the living room and plopped down on the larger couch. "If you're going to yell at me, just go on and do it, okay?" He motioned to Tony grandly with his arms. "I know you want to."

Tony didn't say anything for a few moments. He stared at Loki with narrowed eyes. "Are you drunk?"

"I'm not one to turn down free beverages."

"Oh, my god. What the hell were you drinking?"

"I can name maybe three of them, but I had much more than that."

Tony groaned and covered his face with his hands. His fingers raked through his own hair, before he sat down next to Loki. "I don't even know what to yell at you for. I don't even _want_ to yell at you. I just – I really miss you, okay? And I'm really fucking happy to see you. These past weeks have just been hell for me, you know?"

Loki smiled weakly. "It hasn't been easy on me, either," he admitted. "When Pepper visits, Nari asks about you."

"I know. She tells me."

Loki bit his lip and stared at his hands on his lap. He jumped slightly when Tony's hand rubbed the back of his neck. He then froze when said hand touched the chain around his neck, but didn't stop it as it peregrinated to his chest, pulling out the hidden necklace.

"The necklace I made you," Tony said, awestruck. "You're wearing it."

Loki nodded. "It's much more beautiful than the one in the store."

Loki didn't know how talking about a necklace led to them kissing, nor how it led into the rest of the night. All he knew was that he woke up naked in Tony's bed with his head pounding and swearing to never drink again.


	20. Chapter 19

Loki prayed that having sex for the first time with your boyfriend on New Year's Day wasn't some clichéd holiday tradition, because the kiss was already enough for him.

Tony rolled over and lazily threw an arm over Loki's torso underneath the covers, and let out a breathy laugh at their nudity. "Good morning," he said, his voice hoarse. Loki tried to roll over to face Tony, but was in too much pain to. Tony helped him, smirking the whole time. "Guess you're still sore."

"Shut up," Loki replied. He groaned and massaged his temple with two fingers. "How do you get through hangovers?"

"Well, I usually drink some more and grow an immunity," Tony suggested. Loki glared at him. "Or we can eat a really greasy breakfast. Eggs and bacon and shit."

"Sounds good enough."

"Want me to make some?"

"I don't want to eat on any surface that we had sex on, nor are you allowed to cook on any of them."

Tony paused to recall where they didn't have sex. "…I don't remember where exactly we did have sex in the kitchen, but I can guarantee that we didn't have shower sex yet."

"You just want shower sex, don't you?"

"If we do it, I'll take you out for breakfast."

"… Fine. But you have to carry me everywhere." Loki yelped when Tony yanked the blankets off him and ran into the bathroom, the cold air shocking him awake. "Anthony!"

"Come and get it, beautiful!"

Loki rolled his eyes, but he was eager to roll out of bed and follow Tony as the shower was turned on.

* * *

"Nothing like Denny's to help a horrible hangover," Tony proclaimed before shoveling fried eggs into his mouth. As he chewed, he continued, "One time, I came here with my ex, Bethany Cabe. Damn, that girl could eat. She could put Thor's appetite to shame." Loki hummed his response as he pushed around his eggs with his fork, poking at the yolks until they oozed. Tony swallowed his food and pretended to finally notice Loki's moodiness. "Alright, Princess, what's wrong? You're acting like we haven't seen each other since last year."

Loki glared at him. "Must you?"

"You set me up for the perfect joke." The way Tony smiled reminded him of Thor, who made the same face when he was eating and Darcy wanted to post a picture of him online ("Because no human is capable of eating like Thor does!" she used as an explanation). "Really, Loki, tell me what's wrong."

He hesitated to respond. "It's been almost a month since we last spoke," he said quietly, "and you're acting like everything is back to the way they were."

"Is there something wrong with that?" Tony asked. "Life was great then."

"Yes, Anthony, it was. However, you and I had both done horrible things to each other that day, and we can't just pretend they never happened. That's what creates unhealthy relationships. Soon we would continue acting like that and pushing them aside, until it's thrown back in our faces and explodes. Look at what it did to Odin and Frigga. Do you know that Odin has barely seen Hodur since his birth?"

"Loki, we're not your parents," Tony insisted. "And if you want to talk about this, then let's talk about it."

"What, here?" Loki looked around the mostly-deserted restaurant. The closest seated table was five yards away, and the family was minding their own business.

"Trust me, there are worse things that have happened in a Denny's than discussing… well, you know." Tony motioned to his wrists, staring at his plate with shame.

"The bruises are gone now," Loki said.

"The fact that I left bruises on you in the first place scares the shit out of me, Lokes."

"It's not like I hadn't provoked you."

"It doesn't matter who provoked who. All I remember is Natasha putting me in the sleeper hold. By the way, I'm not so sure the whole I-can-kill-a-man-with-my-thighs thing was a joke."

"At least she didn't hurt you. You finally had your head between her thighs."

"And last night I had my head between yours – hey!" Tony rubbed the area on his arm where Loki had pinched him. "When was the last time you cut your nails?"

"Don't be crude," Loki scolded half-heartedly. He began spreading the runny yolk around his plate. "I didn't get to thank you for the gifts you gave Nari and me."

"I don't think I can ever thank you for the supplies you got me. Bruce and I can finish our first robot before the end of the spring semester now, thanks to you."

Loki held back a smile, but couldn't prevent himself from blushing. "It was my pleasure." He went back to playing with his now tepid food. He wasn't hungry anymore.

* * *

Loki was quiet the entire ride back to Frigga's house, staring out the window and collecting his thoughts. He and Tony still hadn't figured out where they were going from here. Personally, he wasn't ready to move back in. He wasn't even scared of being around Tony as much as he feared letting Nari near him. On top of that, Tony hadn't blamed his alcohol dependency (was it full-blown alcoholism? What defined that?), or even brought it up, and Loki wasn't sure if Tony was still drinking. He was hoping for Tony to at least admit that he had a problem before considering moving back in. Now he wasn't sure that would be enough.

Tony parked in the driveway and turned off the car. He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to face Loki. "How much longer?" he asked.

Loki refused to look him in the eye. "I don't know," he answered.

"Can I come in?"

"Anthony, I don't think we should see each other for a while."

"Really?"

"I just… I think it'll benefit both of us to spend some time apart."

"But you won't break up with me? How does that make any sense–?"

"Tony, please!" Loki didn't mean to scream, nor did he mean to turn and face Tony. He was shocked at himself for his reaction.

"Why won't you move back in then?" Tony asked softly.

Loki shook his head, cursing under his breath when he felt a tear fall down his cheek. "You scare me," he said. "I can't just ignore that."

"But last night–"

"I was drunk, Anthony, and my libido was out of control. I wasn't thinking completely straight."

"Can I at least walk you to the door?"

Loki paused to think about it. "There's no harm in that, is there?"

Tony smiled and exited the car. Loki wiped away his tears as fast as he could before Tony opened his door. He stepped out, shivering as he walked up the few steps. Before his hand reached the doorknob, Tony pulled him into a kiss. It reminded Loki of their second date, of their first kiss together: knees weakening, struggling to breath, almost as if he was falling and floating at once. When Tony pulled away, Loki almost chased after his lips with his own, to claim them again, but restrained himself.

Instead, he bolted inside, shutting the door and bracing himself against it, panting for breath. He then turned and slid down to the floor, back resting on the door and knees cradled to his chest. God, he hadn't felt that way in a long time. Why now?

"Looks like someone finally had sex with their boyfriend last night!"

Loki jumped and cringed, still a bit sore from last night, and glared at the guilty party standing on the staircase. "Must you, Amora?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"What's wrong with what I said? It's true, isn't it? I mean, you have sex hair! Hey, Thor, come here!"

"Amora, don't you bring him into this!"

Loki hid his face behind his hands as Thor appeared by the banister. "What do you need, Amora?" he asked.

"Is that the same outfit Loki wore last night?"

"I believe so."

"See, Loki? And there's an obvious stain on your shirt."

"Please, someone kill me," Loki moaned. He couldn't believe how quickly his life turned into a mock _Sixteen Candles_.

"Well, that doesn't matter, anyway. Not like you were a virgin before you two dated. There's living proof watching a movie up here!" Amora announced with a giggle. She quickly made her way downstairs and pulled Loki to his feet. "Besides, I didn't come over to ask about your sex life – although you will have to share details later, as part of the proper BFF protocol."

"No, I don't," Loki said as he steadied himself. "So why are you here?"

Amora grinned brightly and held up her left hand, wriggling her fingers and showing off her new piece of jewelry. "Skurge and I are getting married!"


End file.
